Fanning the Flames
by Silverflare07
Summary: The Bracelet of Aikou love has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn’t quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...
1. The Bracelet of Aikou

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"HIYA!" Kimiko leapt through the air, leg outstretched in front of her.

In front of her, her target, Raimundo, smirked. "Is that all you got?"

As she reached him his arms shot up and grabbed her leg, swinging her around. Using a blast of wind he threw her almost clear across the training grounds. He smirked triumphantly.

"HA!" Omi brought his arm swiftly up towards Clay's gut but the cowboy jumped above him.

"Sorry partner." Clay tipped his hat. "But it looks like you'll have to grow a few feet to get me that way."

Clay lifted his fist into the air and along with it came five clods of dirt. He moved both his fists out in front of him and the dirt began to circle Omi. The little monk looked up, still impressed with everyone's new mastery of the elements. He sensed, just in the nick of time, what the Dragon of Earth was going to do. As Clay brought his two fists together the dirt closed in on Omi, who jumped.

"I am most sorry my friend," Omi grinned. "But you will have to be much faster to get me."

Kimiko stood up and glared at Raimundo from across the way. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh Rai?" She asked as she walked towards him.

His smirk was still in place, apparently unfazed by the fact that Kimiko was all right. "I guess so. SWORD Of THE STORM!" He held out the blade in front of him, spinning it until it was just a tan blur. The powerful funnel of wind shot straight at the Dragon of Fire.

"Uh, no." Kimiko brought up her two hands in the classic 'stop' gesture and a wall of fire sprang to life in front of her, shielding her from the oncoming attack.

When Raimundo's wind met Kimiko's flame the fire surged higher and circled around her. Kimiko glared at the fiery walls surrounding her. Did he honestly think she would be a prisoner of her own element? She smirked, well then he had another thing coming.

She reached into her robes and pulled out a small coin. "Mantis Flip Coin!" She flipped it into the air and jumped up to catch it. After she'd landed safely she brought her hands together rapidly, jumping just in time as the circle of fire converged together into one tall column. She grinned as she landed on top of the searing column, completely unaffected by it's heat.

"ORB OF TSUNAMI!" Omi held the light blue sphere above his head and a large torrent of water rushed out towards Clay.

The cowboy backed away swiftly, not entirely sure of the best method to counter water. But to his surprise the water stopped inches from his face, the liquid just hanging in the air. Slowly it retracted, back towards Omi. Clay blinked and leaned over to the left, trying to see what the monk was doing.

Omi was concentrating, his nine glowing dots shining brightly. His hands were pressed together, almost as if he was in prayer. He brought his arms above his head and the water turned and rushed directly at him. Just before it reached him it sprang up. Omi opened his eyes and quickly jumped up, riding the pillar of water to the sky.

From the ground Clay watched as Omi balanced on the moving water. He knew exactly what to do. "SIZMIC KICK! EARTH!" He brought his foot down over the ground and a large chunk of rock and dirt rose from beneath him. Concentrating he kicked his foot out towards Omi's water pillar, the dirt clod following his path.

It shot out and sliced the water pillar, just under where Omi was standing. Without the rest of the water to keep him up, Omi and the little water that had remained on his side began to fall towards the ground. Omi, however, had been expecting this and, instead of free falling, he spun himself in the air until he was just above Clay's head. Then, with lightening quick reflexes, his leg snapped out and caught Clay in the chest, the force he'd gained from his fall sending Clay skidding back.

The cowboy grinned at the monk weakly. "Now that's what I call rustling partner." Then he promptly fell on his back.

Kimiko soared skyward, glancing down at the tiny form of Raimundo as she did so. She smirked. "Can't get me from up here, can you, ya big show off."

From down on the ground Raimundo smirked once again at Kimiko's words. He would be winning this fight that was for sure. He twirled the Sword of the Storm once before shooting a grin up at the girl, although he was sure she couldn't see it. "I wouldn't be so sure about that if I was you. SWORD OF THE STORM!"

Again he unleashed a mighty funnel of wind but this time he used his free hand to direct it. He shot his hand upward and the funnel shot up, snaking around Kimiko's column of fire, but never actually touching it. Kimiko turned around as it reached the top expecting it to come at her from behind. Unfortunately Raimundo had anticipated this so the funnel crept up behind her (or what would have been in front of her if she hadn't moved).

Raimundo thrust his hand forward and the wind pushed Kimiko's back, knocking her off her column of fire. Instead of just letting her free fall to the ground the wind gently pushed her in a descending u-turn so that she was once again facing Raimundo. He let the wind gently carry her down about half way then he snatched his hand back towards his body and the wind disappeared completely.

At the same time that Kimiko began to fall Raimundo jumped up and caught her safely in his arms, landing on the ground a few feet away. He grinned triumphantly at the girl in his arms. "I guess that means I win." He set her down.

She stood up and smiled warmly at him. "Oh Rai..." She cooed, placing her hands on his shoulders. Her smile turned evil. "HIYA!" Quickly her hands slid down to grab his upper arms and she threw him a few feet away. "Think again."

Raimundo lifted his head to stare at the girl in front of him. He groaned and placed a hand on his head before letting it fall limply into the grass. "That was cheap Kim. Real cheap."

Kimiko shrugged. "You call it cheap. I call it a win."

Raimundo groaned again. "I guess I should just be happy you didn't kick my-"

"Don't even Pedrosa." She threatened warningly.

Raimundo laughed and slowly sat up. Kimiko walked over and offered him a hand up. He took it and she helped pull him to his feet. Together they made their way over to Clay, Omi, and Master Fung, who had been watching them finish their battle. Raimundo cracked his neck before turning and facing Master Fung, all of them waiting for instructions.

"You have done well today young monks. Your control over your elements has improved greatly." All four teens bowed in thanks. "Now Omi, Clay," He turned towards the two monks. "That is all your training for today. I have a specific session for Kimiko and Raimundo."

Clay nodded but Omi looked disappointed. "Why can I not learn this trick? I am just as capable as Raimundo! Even more so, as I was an apprentice before him."

Raimundo grit his teeth and glared at the little monk. Kimiko and Clay just shook their heads. It seemed Omi was never going to learn. While it may have taken Raimundo a little longer to earn the Apprentice title when he had gotten it he'd certainly deserved it more. Master Fung sensed this too because he sighed.

"It has nothing to do with level Omi. In fact, the ones who take the longest are usually the ones that deserve it the most."

Omi's face fell. "Then...then you are saying I did not deserve to be an apprentice?" He hung is head in shame.

"That is not what I am saying Omi. But you must not continue to look down on Raimundo simply because he did not earn his sash when you did."

"Yes Master Fung. I believe I have learned my lesson. Now may I pleeeeease learn this new technique with Kimiko and Raimundo?"

Master Fung shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

"But...but why?"

Master Fung sighed again. "Perhaps you should come watch. Then you will understand."

The four monks and their master made their way to the center of the training grounds once again. All four took a seat, Kimiko and Raimundo up front and Clay and Omi just behind them. Kimiko and Raimundo both looked up at Master Fung, serious expressions on their faces. When he opened his mouth to speak they expected something complicated and cool. What they got surprised them.

"Have you ever heard the expression fanning the flames?"

Both teens, who _had_ heard the expression, flushed red but nodded regardless. "It's when you sense some chemistry, or a spark, between two people and you decide to try and push them together." Kimiko told him. "I think I remember watching a episode of some cartoon with that title."

Master Fung nodded. "Now think of it in more literal terms."

Both Kimiko and Raimundo tried to think of it but before either of them could answer Clay spoke up. "You mean like of a fire needs oxygen to grow?"

Master Fung nodded again. "Correct. Fire is the only 'man made element', or element that isn't found in nature. The air to make wind is everywhere, so is the earth, and there are very few places you can go where you will not find water. Fire, however, has to be created."

Kimiko, Raimundo, Omi, and Clay all gave Master Fung a blank look. He sighed again and continued explaining.

"All that means is that, since Kimiko's element must come from inside her it takes more of her energy to create and control of her fire. The bigger the fire, the more energy she must use in order to create it. Do you understand?"

Four heads nodded in perfect unison.

"Good. Now, this is a limitation for Kimiko, there is only so much she can put out before she collapses. But," and here he fixed Kimiko and Raimundo with a piercing stare. "If Raimundo were to use his wind to give Kimiko's fire more fuel then she could control larger sized fires using less energy. Like what happened today when Kimiko's wall of fire met Raimundo's wind funnel."

They all nodded again. "So basically, Rai's wind is the fan to Kimiko's flames." Clay stated simply.

"More or less." Master Fung agreed. "Although both sides do well. Kimiko can use more fire using less energy and Raimundo's wind becomes a more destructive force."

Raimundo jumped up to his feet. "Alright! Let's get training right away!"

Master Fung nodded. "Very well. Face each other like you did earlier."

Kimiko walked to the left and Raimundo to the right. They turned and faced each other, standing still and waiting for further instruction.

"Now Kimiko call up a small flame in the palm of your hand." Kimiko did as instructed and tiny flames leapt and danced in her hand. "Good. Now Raimundo, you must be extremely careful. You only want a tiny bit of wind, otherwise the flame could get too large, too quickly and consume Kimiko."

Raimundo gulped and nodded, concentrating. He certainly didn't want Kimiko to get hurt. He closed his eyes, concentrating his chi and maintaining his focus. He silently willed a gentle breeze to waft around him. He could see Kimiko in his minds eye, standing just a few feet in front of him. Slowly he willed the breeze to move carefully in her direction.

"HOLD IT!"

Dojo's voice cut through their concentration. Kimiko's fist closed in surprise causing the flame to disappear. As she did so Raimundo's eyes opened in surprise and his gentle breeze turned into a full-blown gust that swept past Kimiko at such a speed that her pigtails turned up.

"Dojo!" Both teens snapped at the dragon, irritated that their focus had been broken.

"Sorry," The dragon apologized, "but we have to go. NOW! There's been a new Shen-Gong-Wu activated." He held up the scroll.

"A new Wu?" Kimiko was now more curious then angry. "Which one?"

Dojo slid the scroll open and the four monks, plus Master Fung, leaned over to see the image. "It's called the Bracelet of Aikou."

"What's it do?"

"It allows the wearer to choose a member of the opposite sex to fall in love with them." Dojo narrated as they watched the first man in the blue circle hold up his arm. A heart incased the other person, presumably a female, and when it disappeared in a flash she leaned over and gave the man a kiss. "As you can see," Dojo snapped the scroll closed, "We need to get this right away.

Raimundo made a face. "Right...because this Wu is so dangerous."

"Now Raimundo, you are not looking at every angle. What if Wuya got a hold of it and had Jack us it to control Kimiko?" All four monks, plus Dojo, shuddered. "Or if Wuya got it and got her human body back. I have no doubt that she would use it on one of you. Would you like to work for her again?"

Raimundo shook his head quickly. "Uh, no thanks. I've had my share of evil heylin witches."

"How long does the spell last?" Kimiko asked.

Dojo shrugged. "Are you kidding me? Do you know when the last time the bracelet was used?"

"Let me guess," Raimundo replied sarcastically. "Dashi used it on Wuya."

Dojo stopped to think. "Actually yeah."

All four monks sweat dropped. Dojo looked around incredulously. "What? Didn't you know? That whole box thing was just plan B."

Silence met his statement and he shrugged. "Oh well," He transformed to his full size. "Hop on kids we got a long way to go."

Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, and Omi looked at each other, shaking their heads, before running and hopping onto Dojo. They took their usual places, Omi in front, Kimiko behind him, Raimundo behind her, and Clay last. Master Fung watched at they rose into the air.

"Remember," He called after them. "Fan the flames."

* * *

"Ah, beautiful Ireland." Kimiko breathed in the fresh air as they soared above the vast green land.

Dojo slowly descended to the ground and landed in front of a large, run-down castle. Clay raised an eyebrow. "We're at the Blarney Castle?" The others turned to look at him quizzically. He shrugged. "My aunt went to Ireland once, she brought us back some pictures."

Dojo nodded. "Okay. It's around here somewhe-" He suddenly began to shake uncontrollably. "That way!" He yelled, pointing to his right.

The four ran to the left and through a small tunnel. They looked around as they came to the other end and found themselves in forest. "It looks like a nature walk." Kimiko commented.

"Well keep walking!" Dojo pointed to the dirt path. "The Wu should be just up ahead."

They continued down the path another few feet, crossing over a small wooden bridge almost completely covered by plants from both sides. Just after the bridge Dojo, who was in Clay's hands and acting like a detector, shot up. "There it is!"

He was pointing to a large, gnarled tree. The trunk itself was short and stumpy but the there were many thick, twisting branches shooting upward. The branches wove around each other, leaving an almost hollow spot in the center, giving the tree the appearance of a rather uncomfortable chair. Something gleamed in the fading sunlight from one of the many branches.

The Bracelet of Aikou.

"I got it." Raimundo cried, rushing forward and jumping onto one of the tree branches. He quickly worked his way through the tangle of branches and grabbed the bracelet. He jumped down and landed at the base, holding the bracelet up for them to see.

It was a simple gold bracelet, the two ends meeting at pink heart. It didn't look particularly impressive but, then again, the strongest Shen-Gong-Wu rarely did. Suddenly something slammed him from behind and he went head first into the ground, the bracelet flying from his grasp. It soared towards the remaining three warriors.

"Not so fast Xiaolin losers. The Bracelet of Aikou is mine!" Jack Spicer laughed as he hovered over them.

Clay and Omi frowned up at Jack but Kimiko had already darted towards Raimundo. She ran with her left hand stretched above her head, ready to call a flame to shoot down the Jack-Bot that had attacked Raimundo. She failed to notice the gold dot flying towards her until the bracelet fell onto her out stretched hand. She gasped in surprise.

"The Bracelet of Aikou!"

As if in response to her words the bracelet shrunk, fitting her tiny wrist nice and snug, not as loose as it had been previously. Jack cursed under his breath and everyone waited to see if anything would happen.

Nothing did.

Raimundo jumped to his feet. "Stupid Wu, it's probably defective or something." The words had barely left his lips when the Jack-Bot rammed into him from behind again, this time with more force. Raimundo went flying back, twisting through the air and slamming into the ground. Kimiko gasped.

"Raimundo!"

"NOOOO!"

Wuya's voice lifted into the air as a bright light emitted from the bracelet and shot towards Raimundo. It engulfed him and he screamed, although it was more from shock then from pain. Then there was silence. An instant later Kimiko realized what she had done. She gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth as the light began to fade.

"Uh-oh..."

* * *

There's chapter one! I hope you guys like it. I've already got about half of this fic written out and it all planned out. We're looking at 7 chapters. If you've got any cute ideas for things poor love struck Raimundo should do to/for Kimiko I would love to hear them. I could probably fit them into my fic too; I'll try my best. You'll get full credit for the idea of course.

R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	2. I think I love you

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh: _Okay here's the chapter where I stole a line from DP. I'm telling you that now so I don't get sued or anything like that. I do realize I didn't come up with the line by myself and I am perfectly okay with the fact that I still don't own Danny Phantom or XS _:twitch:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Kimiko wasn't entirely sure what she felt as the dust settled and Raimundo's limp form fell to the ground. At first she was terrified that something had gone horribly wrong and that she'd killed him, but after a few seconds he stirred and slowly lifted himself off the ground. He looked around, almost confused, and then Kimiko began to wonder if the shock had made him lose his memory. He didn't seem scared though and after a few seconds the confusion melted off his face so Kimiko relaxed. He looked towards Omi and Clay, then up to where Wuya and Jack were hovering above him. Finally he turned his head to look at Kimiko and a dopey grin slid across his face.

Instinctively Kimiko felt herself tense. She'd never seen him smile like that before at her, or at anyone for that matter. She had seen the smile before, just not on Raimundo. Slowly recognition dawned.

_I do know that smile! That's the same smile my favorite cartoon character gives the girl he likes!_

And Kimiko knew; the Shen-Gong-Wu had worked.

Raimundo stood up, brushing the dirt off of his tunic and pants. Once he'd checked himself over to make sure nothing was badly injured he turned back to Kimiko. He began walking towards her and she felt herself step back. The dopey grin, while completely compatible with her favorite cartoon, looked almost psychotic on Raimundo. She half expected him to attack her. Which he did.

Just not in the way she'd expected.

Raimundo ran the last few feet, closing the distance between them. He picked her up by the waist and swung her around, grinning broadly. "Kimi-bear!" He pulled her into a hug.

Kimiko's eyes bugged. She wasn't sure what surprised her more. The fact that he'd just hugged her or the fact that he'd just called her Kimi-bear... "Rai, would you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you Kimi-bear!"

"Don't EVER call me that again."

"You got it beautiful."

Kimiko frowned but decided it was better then Kimi-bear. Behind her Clay and Omi's jaws had both hit the ground. Above them Jack Spicer was doubled over in laughter. Kimiko flushed red but Raimundo looked completely unfazed by it all. In fact he smiled like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Wuya was not so happy about the turn of events. She turned angrily to Jack. "Look what your incompetence has cost us! We've lost yet another Shen-Gong-Wu!"

Jack stopped laughing long enough to wave a hand in her face. "Yeah, yeah. So we didn't get the Wu." He burst into laughter again. "This was SO worth it though!"

Wuya shook her head and wished she still had hands to smack against her forehead. "Come on Jack, let's go." She floated away and Jack followed, his laughter trailing behind him.

Clay was the first of the two warriors to regain his composure. He turned to where Kimiko stood, face beat red, beside Raimundo who looked like he'd done something as normal as ask her about the weather. "Well..." He started weakly. "At least we got the Wu."

Omi snapped out of his revere and shook his head. "I suppose we should head home. Then we may find a way to reverse the effects."

Dojo, who had been watching the whole thing from Clay's shoulder, hopped off and transformed. "Hop on."

Raimundo smiled down at Kimiko and took her hand in his, leading her to the dragon. Omi and Clay, who had been closer to Dojo, were already seated and watched, still slightly shocked, as Raimundo gave Kimiko a hand getting on the dragon (not that she needed one) before hopping on behind her. He sat closer to her then normal but didn't try to wrap his arms around her again, for which she was grateful. This whole thing was just a little to weird.

Dojo lifted off into the sky and began flying back to the temple as Clay finally began to laugh at Raimundo's affectionate 'nickname' for Kimiko. Raimundo seemed unfazed by the whole thing but Kimiko turned and glared at the cowboy.

"And just what is so funny Clay?"

"Aw, nothing...Kimi-bear." He laughed again and this time Omi joined in.

Kimiko frowned. "Come on guys! It's not like he really means it or even knows what he's saying!"

Omi nodded. "Yes but it is most funny to see Raimundo yell out such names. I wonder if he will act out any other forms of humorousness while he is being controlled by the Bracelet of Aikou."

"Hopefully it won't last more then a week of so." Dojo added. "I think that's how long it worked on Wuya. But that was a long time ago so don't quote me on that."

Clay pushed back his hat. "It'll be one heck of a week, that's for sure."

Kimiko sighed and looked down at her hands. Raimundo was going to embarrass himself all because of her. She turned back to look at Raimundo who was still staring at her with that dopey grin. He didn't seem to have heard a word of their conversation. She felt guilt surge through her. Even if it was an accident.

Still...she couldn't help agreeing with Clay.

* * *

They landed back at the temple a little while later and, thankfully; Kimiko had been able to convince Omi and Clay to stop laughing. Master Fung greeted them as they slid off of Dojo.

"Did you acquire the Bracelet of Aikou?"

All four warriors remained silent, unsure of how to tell Master Fung what had happened. Kimiko looked at the ground guiltily. She still felt bad about the whole thing. Even Raimundo didn't deserve to make THAT much of a fool out of himself. Especially since it wasn't of his own free will. Still neither Clay, Omi, nor Kimiko could quite figure out how to tell him. Good thing Raimundo could.

"Isn't she beautiful when she's wracked with guilt!" Raimundo cried giving Kimiko's shoulders an affectionate squeeze.

This statement caused both Omi and Clay to burst into laughter. Master Fung just raised an eyebrow. Kimiko looked at the ground, her face flushed red again. Slowly she held up her wrist.

"Yeah...we got it." Master Fung nodded but said nothing. "So..." Kimiko started. "Is there a way to make it stop?"

Again Master Fung nodded. "Of course there is."

Kimiko's face brightened. "Really! What is it?"

"To let the Shen-Gong-Wu run its course. I'm positive that Raimundo will return to normal eventually."

Kimiko's face fell. She'd been afraid of that. "So you're saying I just have to leave him like this?" She gestured to Raimundo who was still staring at her with a dreamy expression.

Master Fung nodded. "I'm afraid so. But do not worry, I'm sure many new experiences can be learned from this." He walked away.

Kimiko, Omi, and Clay exchanged glances before looking at Raimundo. Master Fung might have been sure but they weren't. Slowly they all began to walk away. Raimundo smiled at Kimiko's retreating figure before running to catch up.

"Hey Kimi!"

Kimiko turned at the sound of her name. "Yes Rai?" She replied, hoping he wasn't going to start calling her nicknames again.

"There's something I want to give you."

Kimiko looked surprised. "There is?"

"Yeah." He grinned and, much to her surprise (okay maybe not so much), Kimiko's stomach flipped. He grabbed her hand. "Come on, it's in my room."

As they reached their shared room, or whatever you would call them, Raimundo pulled her over to his section, eager to give her his gift. Kimiko was curious to know what he'd gotten her. It wasn't everyday, love Shen-Gong-Wu or no, that Raimundo got people gifts.

Raimundo began shuffling through a small wooden box. Kimiko recognized it as the one he kept things important to him in. It was where he kept photos of his family and friends back in Brazil, among other things. Finally his hand clasped on the object he was looking for and he pulled it out of the box.

"Now close your eyes." He instructed her.

Normally Kimiko wouldn't have done so. Raimundo was not the best person to trust when asked to close your eyes. He loved pulling pranks on people that way. If he hadn't actually called her Kimi-bear she probably wouldn't have believed him. But no matter how badly he'd wanted to trick her, or freak her out, the old Raimundo would have never called her that. Slowly, still a little cautious, she complied. She heard his arm move out in front of him.

"Okay, now open them."

Kimiko did what she was told and almost gasped in surprise. Dangling from Raimundo's grasp was a pretty silver chain. Hanging from the chain was a flame pendent, the inside a bright, shinning, red orange, the outline a metallic silver.

"It's beautiful Rai. But why...?"

Raimundo shrugged. "I was waiting for your birthday, but I just couldn't wait another minute. I thought someone as beautiful as yourself deserved something like this."

Kimiko once again felt her face flush but was surprised to find that it wasn't nearly as embarrassing when Clay and Omi weren't there. In fact, when it was just the two of them, it was actually almost kind of sweet. "Will you put it on for me?" Kimiko asked.

Raimundo nodded so she turned around and he gently placed it around her neck and closed the clasp. The flame pendent rested gently on her chest and she pressed a finger to it.

"It's really great Rai, thanks."

He smiled. "Nothing but the best for my baby bunky bunker boo."

Kimiko tensed up. "What?"

Raimundo shrugged again. "You said I couldn't call you Kimi-bear."

"You can't call me that either!" She huffed out of the room.

"Kimiko! Wait!" Raimundo called after her, sounding perplexed. "I didn't mean it! I can come up with another nickname!" He took off after her. "I swear it. How bout Kim-Kim?"

"NO!" Her yelled lingered in the air as both teens disappeared from sight.

From inside his own part of the room Clay stifled a laugh behind his hand. Where was Raimundo coming up with these nicknames? Beside him, Omi (who had also been spying of the two Dragons) looked confused.

"Clay?"

Clay looked down at the little monk. "Yeah partner?"

"Tell me...what is a baby bunky bunker boo?"

* * *

Kimiko ran a tired hand through her hair as she walked into the kitchen the next morning. She hadn't had the energy to put her hair up so she'd just let it hang loose. If need be she could put it up before they trained. She hadn't slept well the night before. She'd had the most bizarre dream. She'd accidentally used a Shen-Gong-Wu to turn Raimundo into a lovesick puppy and then he'd spent the rest of the evening giving her these ridiculous nicknames.

She shook her head but smiled, as she smelt the tantalizing scent of bacon and eggs wafting in from the kitchen. It would be nice to go in there and hear Raimundo throw her a sarcastic reply after the dream she'd just had. Obviously something like that could never happen. She almost giggled, like Dashi would even use such a pointless Shen-Gong-Wu. She stepped into the kitchen smiling and rubbing the last bit of sleep out of her eyes.

From the stove Raimundo turned and grinned at her. "Good morning beautiful!"

Kimiko froze, her hand still raised up to her eye. It hadn't been a dream. Suddenly the bracelet's weight on her wrist became apparent. She wondered why she hadn't felt it before? It wasn't like she normally went around sleeping with jewelry on. She looked at and realized that it didn't feel cool against her skin like a metal should have.

_It almost feels _like_ my skin. No wonder I didn't notice it._

She frowned as she brought her hand back down. Raimundo slid some eggs on a plate, next to a few pieces of bacon, and brought them over to her. He handed her the plate and smiled, attempting to cheer her up.

"Don't frown beautiful, we've got another gorgeous day ahead of us." Then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before walking back to the stove to make more breakfast.

Clay watched for her reaction silently as he continued eating his breakfast while Omi, who was squeezing oranges for some more juice, did the same. Both silently observed Kimiko, waiting for her response.

Slowly her left hand lifted up to gently brush her cheeks. Her mouth was open in a small 'o' of surprise. "W-What was that for?"

Raimundo shrugged, flipping over a few strips of bacon. "Just my way of letting you know I love you."

This statement was meant with total silence, save for the popping and sizzling of the bacon grease. Clay was starring wide-eyed at Raimundo, his fork halfway to his mouth. Omi had stopped mid squeeze, the last bits of juice dripping onto the floor. He was turned around completely, gazing at Kimiko.

Kimiko's eyes had widened. It was just too early for this. She hadn't thought he'd actually say he loved her. Sure, aikou was Japanese for love but still... She felt the heat rising in her cheeks.

"I, uh, thanks Rai..." She mumbled quickly as she rushed to join Clay at the table.

The cowboy wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to laugh of not. One the one hand, none of them had expected him to say that and it was a very serious thing. Plus if he laughed Raimundo might question him. They'd all decided, Master Fung included, that it would be easier to not try and tell Raimundo that he was under some sort of spell.

_"There is no guarantee of how he would react to the news. Or if he would even believe you at all..."_

Clay wasn't about to take the chance of having Raimundo mistake him for a rival. He'd seen what the dragon could do when he was mad. It wasn't pretty. Finally he decided to just let it be, what would happen, would happen, and brought the hovering fork up to his mouth, continuing his breakfast.

Omi was scrutinizing the scene as well, not entirely sure of what he was feeling. He didn't want to laugh, that much was certain. Kimiko had been the only girl he'd ever known and more often then not he'd viewed her as a helpful friend and older sister. But Raimundo's sudden affection for her was slightly unnerving. Kimiko didn't seem to be returning this affection so that was good. He still couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling, he'd been jealous before, not necessarily of a girl, but he'd defiantly been jealous of other things. It hadn't felt like this...it had been stronger.

_Ah, well,_ He shrugged to himself and continued to squeeze the orange. _Perhaps I will ponder the mysterious questions of the female later._ He grinned. _If I have time between training and saving the world._

* * *

Kimiko tossed again on her futon. She growled angrily and lifted her upper body up, punching her pillow. She couldn't get to sleep again. The day had been, surprisingly, rather uneventful. After the whole 'I love you' thing at breakfast Master Fung had taken pity on her and given them each a list of chores to do, separately, that was so long they'd been busy all day. She'd barely had time to talk to Raimundo, let alone be forced into anymore embarrassing situations.

Things were really bad if she thought chores were better then facing this new Raimundo.

She groaned and flopped back down, burying her head in her pillow. After another few minutes of sleeplessness Kimiko gave up completely and sat up, crossing her arms and pouting childishly. She considered going to the space next to her and waking up Raimundo. After all, he was the reason she couldn't get to sleep. Then she sighed and scolded herself for acting like such a brat. It wasn't really Raimundo's fault that he was keeping her up. He couldn't exactly help himself after all. And, although it had been VERY embarrassing, it had also been kind of...sweet.

Only a little.

Shuffling from the entrance to her section of the room stopped her thoughts. She looked up to see Raimundo's form standing in the entryway. His hands were hidden behind his back and he smiled sheepishly.

"Hey Kim."

She smiled weakly. "Hey Rai. Did I wake you? I'm sorry if I did."

Raimundo shook his head. "No. I was up. I heard you moving around, you okay?"

Kimiko sighed and nodded. "Yeah, just having trouble getting to sleep that's all."

Raimundo looked almost self-conscious, but it was hard to tell with nothing but the faint glow of the moon illuminating him. "Here." He brought his arms out from behind his back and thrust something in her direction.

Curious, Kimiko got up and walked over to him. In the dim moonlight she could just make out the form of a brown teddy bear resting in his hands. "Aw, it's cute."

Raimundo's face colored slightly (in love or no he's revealing his deepest secret here). "His...his name's Teddy. I've had him for as long as I can remember. He helps me get to sleep at night, especially when something's bothering me."

"But...won't you need him tonight?"

Raimundo shook his head. "You need him more then me. I want you to have him."

Touched, Kimiko smiled and slowly took the bear from his hands. She wrapped it in a hug, pulling it close to her chest, one delicate, pale finger making circles around its ear. "Thank you Rai."

He turned to and walked back to his own section. He stopped and smiled at her. "Good night beautiful. I hope Teddy helps." He said before disappearing behind the wall that separated them.

Kimiko hugged the bear closer. "I'm sure he will." She walked over and laid down on her futon, pulling the covers over herself and the teddy bear. She smiled and snuggled closer to it. It really did make her feel better

Sighing happily she closed her eyes. Sleep came almost immediately.

L7

There's chapter 2! I hope it was as good as chapter one!

I've been debating about how jealous I want to make Omi for this fic for a while now, it was sort of request from Chibi (who I'm writing this for) but I'm not really very good at love triangles. I've pretty much got it planned out how I'm going to resolve the whole jealousy issue but I just want to let you know now that it's not going to be playing a big role in this fic.

Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for all your reviews and all the ideas you guys had about stuff for Raimundo to do. I want to let you know that I really wish I could use all of them, and I was really going to try but I've already go it so planned out (and most of it written) that I just can't do some of them. Sorry guys. I did use one or two and I loved all of them (they were great!). I hope you guys aren't too mad at me.

Don't forget to R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	3. A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts/flashbacks_

* * *

When Kimiko woke up the next morning the first thing she did was smile down at the teddy bear in her arms. She hadn't even known Raimundo had a teddy bear, let alone that he slept with it still. It was kind of...cute. Kimiko frowned, why was everything about Raimundo seeming so cute lately. Sure, he was the best looking of the three male monks, at least in her opinion, and yes he could be nice when he wanted to be but... Kimiko shook her head; the Bracelet of Aikou was probably just affecting her too. That was all.

Slowly she rose to her feet and poked her head out of the entrance to her section of the room. No one was there, good. Silently she crept out, Teddy in her hands, and slinked towards Raimundo's section. She wanted to return it as quickly and quietly as possible. She doubted Raimundo wanted Clay and Omi to know about the animal.

She stopped in front of the curtain that shielded his little space from the rest of the room. Silence. Good that meant he wasn't there. Checking the room quickly again to make sure no one was there she slipped inside. She looked curiously at large lump present on Raimundo's futon. The lump was moving up and down ever so slightly. It took a moment for her brain to connect the up and down motion with breathing.

Apparently she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.

Cautiously she moved towards the lump, which was obviously Raimundo, and knelt beside him. The boy had the covers thrown over his head so Kimiko carefully peeled them back to find him sleeping on his side, his back to her. She just wanted to place the bear with him and leave without him ever knowing her was here. She smiled at his sleeping form and gently placed the teddy bear next to his head.

She frowned. Somehow that just didn't look right. Plus, if Clay or Omi came to wake him up they were sure to see it. Sighing she pulled the covers back farther, so that now his chest and torso could be seen. She blushed as she realized he slept in only boxers. She knew she was just here to return Teddy but she couldn't but feel like she was doing something very naughty.

Shaking her head she picked up the bear and placed it next to him. Immediately Raimundo rolled over and clutched the bear in his arms. Kimiko smiled, he looked so innocent while he was asleep. You'd never guess that, when he wasn't under a love spell, he was sarcastic and cocky when he was awake.

Her eyes roamed his body, taking in his features. None of the monks were out of shape per se, but Raimundo was the only one you could really see the muscle on. Clay was bulky by nature and Omi was small and quick. Raimundo, however, seemed to be just right. It was easy to see, when he didn't have a shirt on, the well-defined muscles in his arms and chest that had come from years of being a Xiaolin warrior. Her eyes stopped at a small scar on his shoulder. It wasn't very big, only a few inches long at the most, but it was there all the same. She lightly traced over the scar with her fingertips. He'd gotten that scar protecting her.

_"Jack-bots ATTACK!" Jack Spicer command throwing his finger out towards the Xiaolin monks._

_The robots came flying at them and they all got ready to fight. They were out numbered 12 to 4 but they weren't worried. These were the same Jack-bots they'd been fighting since they had started collection Shen-Gong-Wu. It wasn't much of a threat. _

_Omi leaped into action, quickly jumping onto the closest Jack-bot and thrusting it forward into another. He calmly kicked the head off another one before racing after Jack Spicer who, in a moment of stupidity, had decided he was ready to attack the Xiaolin Temple and go straight for the Shen-Gong-Wu vault. _

_Clay took out three of his own Jack-bots fairly quickly. He'd used a large pile of dirt and buried them. He too took off after Jack, trying to stop him before he got inside the vault. Jack wasn't usually much of a threat so he and Omi would be fine._

_Raimundo had copied Omi and slammed two Jack-bots together breaking them apart. The third he had kicked into a tree where it now lay broken and obsolete. He watched Clay take off after Omi and Jack then looked over at Kimiko._

_Kimiko was holding her own pretty well but she was at a slight disadvantage. Today had been her training day. The day when Master Fung worked solely with her to help her gain more control over her element. Clay, Omi, and Raimundo had all had their days too. She'd been put through much more rigorous training then usual and, as a result, was exhausted. She was feeling almost too tired to use her element._

_Almost._

_"Judo le flip, FIRE!" Kimiko jumped and flipped in the air positioning both her feet underneath her to deliver a fierce blow to her second robot. It went crashing into the ground, a large whole in the center of its body. It short-circuited and lay there uselessly. She landed on the ground a few feet away breathing heavily, her eyes threatening to close on her. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more then to close her eyes and sleep for a few days. She might have too, if she hadn't heard Raimundo's yell._

_"LOOK OUT!" _

_She turned around to see the last Jack-bot come flying at her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she prepared herself to be thrown across the courtyard. Damn robots, she was just too tired to keep up with them today. The Jack-bot closed in on her and she braced herself. The next thing she knew there was a red and white blur between her and the Jack-bot and a hand was pushing her even further behind it._

_Raimundo held up his other arm in front of Kimiko defensively. The Jack-bot's claws, or extensively long fingernails, depending on how you looked at it, slashed at Raimundo's arm. He moved it quickly but the last claw cut his shoulder, slicing open his tunic. Raimundo retaliated immediately, sending the Jack-bot back into a tree with a large gust of wind._

_Raimundo turned to Kimiko and smiled. "You okay?'_

_She nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Are _you_ okay?" She asked pointing at his arm._

_He nodded and brought his arm up to inspect it. The movement caused him to hiss in pain and he clamped his hand over the wound. "I will be. It's just a scratch. Now come on! We've got to get to the vault!"_

_As they were running towards it Kimiko turned to Raimundo. "Why'd you jump in front of me like that? I mean, why didn't you just use the wind to drive it back or something?" _

_Even in the dark she could see Raimundo's face flush and he coughed nervously. "Well I, uh, it was the first thing that came to my mind okay!" He finished defensively._

_Kimiko nodded. "Okay." She smiled warmly. "Thanks again."_

_"No problem."_

A cough shook her out of her flashback and she turned her head slowly to see Clay smirking at her from the doorway to Raimundo's room.

"I was sent to wake up Raimundo but it looks like you've got a handle on that." Clay grinned wider.

Kimiko flushed. "You tell no one I was here, got it?" She stood up quickly and walked toward the exit.

Clay tipped his hat. "Yes ma'am. Although I reckon there ain't nothing wrong with him finding out. It's not like it would be awkward or nothing."

Kimiko pushed past him and walked to her own section, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Maybe for him it wouldn't be." Kimiko sighed again and reached for her tunic.

She had to get ready to greet the day and its many surprises.

* * *

Kimiko sighed again as she looked up at the mountain of scrolls in front of her. Master Fung had decided to 'take pity' on her yet again and gave them all a list of chores to do. Kimiko's only chore had been to organize the scroll room. A job that would take all day, perhaps even most of tomorrow.

Kimiko was beginning to suspect that listening to Raimundo serenade her with a love song would be better then this. Kimiko made a face as an image of Raimundo wearing that ridiculous cowboy hat and playing a guitar popped into her head. She stifled a giggle as he began singing too.

Shoving the thought from her mind before Raimundo started dancing she turned her attention back to the scrolls. She sighed once more; she'd been doing that a lot these past few days, her good mood from the humorous image completely gone now. There were thousands of scrolls in here and trying to organize them by herself would take ages. It almost seemed impossible.

Nodding determinedly Kimiko picked up the first scroll and opened it. She scanned it quickly and immediately got the gist of its contents. It was about the Shen-Gong-Wu. That would be her first step. Separate Shen-Gong-Wu scrolls from non Shen-Gong-Wu scrolls. She placed it to her left and picked up another one. That one went to the left too. The next one she picked up, however, went to her right. It was information about how to care for a dragon properly.

Three-hours later Kimiko looked at the large piles on either side of her. She smiled, that should have at least made a dent in the mountain of scrolls she'd started out with. She looked up and her face fell. The stack of scrolls was still towering over her. Groaning and smacking her forehead she fell back onto the floor. Dragging another scroll towards her. It was going to be a LONG day.

"Hey beautiful."

Kimiko turned her head and peered around the pile of scrolls at Raimundo, who was leaning against the doorway.

She smiled despite the impossible task looming in front of her. "Hey Rai. You're done with your chores already?"

Raimundo nodded and grinned. "I used the Shard of Lightening to get them done faster."

Kimiko stuck out her tongue playfully. "Cheater."

He grinned at her with that same love struck grin he'd had when he'd first seen her after being taken over by the bracelet. "I wanted to spend more time with you."

Kimiko shook her head and nodded towards the mountainous pile of scrolls in front of her. "Well I'm going to be stuck here all day so..."

Raimundo's smile became more normal. Just the normal smile that Raimundo used to give her when no one was looking. That normal smile that was just for her, and no one else. The smile that Kimiko loved. "That's why I came to offer you help."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "You want to help me?"

Raimundo nodded enthusiastically. "Four hands can do more then two." He moved the pile of unsorted scrolls to the left and sat in front of Kimiko.

Kimiko watched as he picked up a scroll and opened it. "Even with your help Rai this is going to be impossible."

Raimundo smiled at her again. "If there's one thing I've learned it's that, together, we can do anything."

Kimiko resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _How corny can he get! At least he's not making goo-goo eyes at me. It's weird but it's almost like he's...normal._

The thought made Kimiko flush. Despite the amazing level of corniness that the saying had reached it was kind of sweet...for Raimundo. She smiled at him and grabbed another scroll. "Well then let's get started."

* * *

Kimiko smiled as she shut the door to the scroll room. Everything was organized and put away. It had still taken all day but with Raimundo's help it had gone by faster. She even still had an hour before dinner to call Keiko.

"Finished already Kimiko?"

Kimiko jumped at the sound of Master Fung's voice. She turned towards the old man. "Yes I am."

"That was awfully quick."

Kimiko nodded. "Yeah. Raimundo helped me."

Master Fung frowned. "I hope you are not taking advantage of Raimundo's current state."

Kimiko gasped in shock. "No, of course not. He offered to help me, I promise."

Master Fung nodded. "I would expect nothing less from Raimundo."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow at him but decided not to comment on it. Half of the things Master Fung said didn't make sense anyways. Shaking her head she silently made her way down the hallway to her room.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Dojo slithered up Master Fung's arm, resting on his shoulder.

"I meant exactly what I said."

Dojo raised an eyebrow. "You really think the old Raimundo would have helped her?"

Master Fung nodded. "Maybe not as openly as he did today. I believe he would have done it more subtly. Perhaps a stray breeze would have helped her move a large pile of scrolls."

Dojo shook his head. "You are almost weirder then Dashi sometimes, and he tried to make Wuya fall in love with him. It doesn't get much weirder then that."

Master Fung shrugged and headed towards the kitchen. "Perhaps. But consider this my friend, what didn't work for Dashi may just work for Kimiko."

Dojo scratched his head. "Huh?"

"You shall see Dojo, you shall see."

* * *

The next day Kimiko swept the steps of the temple with a smile on her face. Today had been the least hectic day since the start of the whole 'bracelet of aikou' thing. She was, strangely enough, getting used to Raimundo's affection greetings of 'morning beautiful' and had, one some level, begun to wonder if maybe, just maybe, she would miss them when they were gone.

But she shook it off.

She finished sweeping and walked back inside. Master Fung seemed to have realized that Kimiko was more capable of handling the new Raimundo so he'd lightened up on the chore load. Something for which the four monks were extremely grateful. Kimiko was completely finished with her chores and was just beginning to ponder what to do with the rest of her day when the answer came flying at her.

Literally.

Raimundo had been running to her and wrapped her in a hug. "Kimi! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Kimiko pried herself from his grasp and looked up at him. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He tapped the tip of her nose with his pointer finger. "I was just wondering if you could help do me a favor?"

Kimiko weighed the options out in her hand. On one hand it was very unlikely that he would want her to do something stupid so he could have a laugh like the old Raimundo would do but on the other hand this new Raimundo was likely to ask her to do something like tell him she loved him back. He hadn't asked her to do that so far but there was always that chance.

It wasn't that she didn't love him back and it wasn't that she did. It was just that she didn't know what she felt. This new sweet Raimundo was nice but she did miss her old sarcastic one. _The, _the old sarcastic one. Not hers. She shook her head to stop the thoughts and looked up at Raimundo again.

"Sure Rai. What'd ya need?"

Raimundo's face split into a large grin and he pulled her into another hug. "Thanks Kimi-cub! You're the best."

"Rai," She warned, "What did we agree about nicknames?"

Raimundo blinked, completely unaware of what he had just called her, it clicked a few seconds later and he looked apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't even realize I'd said that."

Kimiko shook her head. "It's okay." At least he wasn't calling her baby-bunky-bunker-boo again. "What'd ya need?" She repeated.

Raimundo's face immediately lit up at being forgiven. "I just wanted to send a picture of us to my parents back in Brazil."

Kimiko froze. A picture? That could lead to them asking questions. Again she weighed her options. She could always call the Pedrosas and politely tell them that their son was under some form of Wu hypnosis (which was the best way she could seem to describe it) and that he only _thought_ he was in love with her. She would explain that the effects were only temporary but it was best to just play along with it. That would be much easier then saying no and trying to think of a good enough excuse for saying so.

Finally she nodded. "Okay Rai."

He grinned wider. "Thanks Kimi-be- Thanks Kimi."

"So... who's going to take the picture?"

"I am." Clay stepped into the room and tipped his hat. Kimiko shot him a questioning look and he grinned. "Just tryin' to help out a partner."

Kimiko nodded. "Okay..." She turned back to face Raimundo. "Ready?"

Raimundo nodded. "Yeah." He walked behind Kimiko and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. He rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled into the camera Clay was holding up.

When Kimiko was younger she had gone a lot of fancy parties and things of that nature with her father, so she had learned at a young age to get people to think she was paying attention when her mind was really on something else. It was a skill that was showing itself to be quite useful at the moment. Her eyes and smile were still trained on the camera and, judging by the lack of Clay trying to hint to her to make it look more realistic, it was looking real enough.

Her mind however was a million miles away.

For some reason, one she couldn't even begin to fathom, her heartbeat had just increased 10 fold. She could just feel Raimundo's breath on her neck and it sent a shiver down her spine. And she was getting just a little bit used to how it felt to have his arms around her.

Clay's cough brought her out of her thoughts once again (that was twice the Dragon of the Earth had caught her off guard). "Hey, I'm, uh, finished taking the picture so if ya'll want to move again that's fine. O'course if you'd rather stay were you are that's fine too."

Kimiko just nodded mutely as Raimundo slowly unlatched his arms from her waist. Clay looked at Kimiko curiously. The Dragon of the Fire seemed to be sort of out it. He wondered what was the matter but then Raimundo muttered a quick 'thanks beautiful', gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and ran out of the room with the camera. Clay looked at the semi-shocked looked on her face and understood.

And now Clay Bailey, who had never believed in a higher power a single day of his life, had to wonder if this whole event had been planned out by some higher spirit years ago

* * *

Yeah...I have no idea what religion any of the monks are, they probably don't even have a religion per se, since ya know, this is a kid's show and kid's shows tend to stay away from that topic, unless it's like the Christmas episode...

Anyways there's chapter 3. We're almost half way done with the story! Woohoo! I hope you guys like it.

Don't forget to R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	4. Sing Me To Sleep

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh: _

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

L7

"Kimiko, Raimundo, it is time to continue your training."

Kimiko looked up in surprise from Goo Zombies 4 (the latest edition which her father had just sent her) at Master Fung. She'd assumed that, since Raimundo was under the Wu hypnosis, they wouldn't be training. They hadn't trained for the past four days, any of them. "Training?"

Master Fung nodded and motioned to Raimundo who had been previously watching her from a tree branch (non to conspicuously either) and was now walking towards them. "Raimundo has not let his new feelings for you interfere with his duty of being a Xiaolin Warrior and neither should you."

Kimiko nodded. "Yes Master Fung." She placed the game system down on the grass and stood up just as Raimundo reached them.

"Good. Now face each other like you did last time." They did as instructed. "Now, Kimiko, call up a small flame." Kimiko held her hand out in front of her, palm up, and willed a tiny flame to spring to life. "Good. Now remember Raimundo," He turned to face the Dragon of the Wind. "Just a small, gentle breeze."

"Yes Master Fung." Raimundo nodded solemnly.

Closing his eyes and gathering his chi he created a thin stream of air, no bigger then his finger, and no more powerful then a paper fan. Slowly he sent it towards Kimiko and her flame. This time no dragon interrupted them and the wind made contact with the flame. The tiny flame burst to life, growing in size and strength. The flame now danced happily, as big as Kimiko's palm. She brought up her other hand and slowly twirled her finger in circles, creating a coil shape in the air and with the fire.

Master Fung smiled. "Very good. And that, essentially is how you will fan the flames."

Kimiko smiled at the flame in her hand. "Awesome!"

Raimundo grinned. "We did it!" He pumped his fists in the air.

Without meaning too Kimiko smiled at him and found herself walking towards him and letting him pull her into a hug. A hug she actually found herself returning.

Omi sighed as he and Clay watched Raimundo hug Kimiko, and this time Kimiko was hugging him back. That strange feeling he'd felt when Raimundo had told Kimiko he loved her was starting to come back again. Omi frowned; he did not understand why he was feeling that way.

Clay looked down at the frowning monk. "Jealous partner?"

Omi shook his head. "No, at least I do not think so."

Clay nodded. "Right." He said skeptically.

Omi sighed. _I do not understand why I am jealous. I have long suspected that there might be something between Raimundo and Kimiko but I did not feel this way. I just never thought anything like this would happen. Kimiko is the only girl I have ever known and I-_ Omi's head shot up and he grinned.

_That is it!_

* * *

Kimiko yawned and stretched her arms over her head. Master Fung had made them train for almost four hours. They were now at the point where Kimiko could make a small staff of fire and Raimundo could make it into a nice sized sword. After that they'd all had regular training for a few hours. All four monks were tired but Kimiko especially. She would have thought Raimundo would have been tired too but he seemed to be a bundle of energy, something that was usually Omi's job. He'd run off and they hadn't seen him since.

Kimiko walked into the room she shared with the others and lit a few lanterns, allowing the light to spill into the room. Clay and Omi were with Master Fung in the temple vault, helping him do a Shen-Gong-Wu count. Just in case. She still hadn't seen Raimundo.

She looked out the window into the inky black night. It was after dinner already and getting steadily later. She bit her lip out of concern for the Dragon of Wind but her eyes druped and she shook her head. Raimundo was perfectly safe, wherever he was, he would be back soon. Besides she was too tired to be of any use to him.

She smiled and nodded to herself before going and changing into her pajamas. She laid down on her futon and let her head drop to the pillow. She had just closed her eyes when music floated in through the room's only window. Kimiko snapped her eyes open, music... what in the world was music doing playing outside the window, especially at this time of night.

Slowly Kimiko rose from her futon and out into the rest of room. She made her way to the window and peered out into the night. At first she didn't see anything but as her eyes adjusted to the night she spotted a lone figure, down on one knee, in the middle of the yard. She could just make out Dojo, almost completely hidden behind a bush, with a CD player/radio. Kimiko froze:

She'd just been kidding about Raimundo serenading her.

_"Desperate for changing_

_Starving for truth_

_I'm closer to where I started_

_When chasing after you_

I'm falling even more in love with you 

_Letting go of all I've held onto _

_I'm standing here until you make me move_

_I'm hanging by a moment here with you"_

Kimiko stood transfixed as Raimundo belted out a love song. It was amazing how good he actually was. And how sincere he sounded. The Bracelet of Aikou grew warm against her wrist and Kimiko was swept up in the song.

_"Forget all I'm lacking_

_Completely incomplete_

_I'll take your invitation_

_You take all of me_

_Now: _

_I'm falling even more in love with you_

_Letting go of all I've held on to_

_I'm standing here until you make me move_

_I'm hanging by a moment here with you"_

The quite night faded away as Raimundo sang. The bracelet grew even warmer against Kimiko's wrist and, had she not been in such a stupor, she might have realized it was growing hot, almost painfully so. Soon even Dojo and the CD player faded away and all that was left was her and Raimundo.

And, of course, his wonderful song.

_"I'm living for the only thing I know_

_I'm running and not quite sure where to go_

_And I don't know what I'm diving in to_

_Just hanging by a moment here with you_

_There's nothing else to lose_

_There's nothing left to find_

_There's nothing in the world_

_That can change my mind_

_There is nothing else_

_There is nothing else_

_There is nothing else"_

Raimundo took the moment of no words to look up at the window and see if Kimiko was watching. When he saw her small frame in the window his face lit up and he looked like a child a Christmas. An extra adorable child at Christmas.

_"Desperate for changing_

_Starving for truth_

_I'm closer where I started _

_When chasing after you_

_I'm falling even more in love with you_

_Letting go of all I've held on to_

_I'm standing here until you make me move_

_I'm hanging by a moment_

_I'm living for the only thing I know_

_I'm running and not quite sure where to go_

_And I don't know what I'm diving into_

_Just hanging by a moment"_

Kimiko smiled back at the Brazilian boy.

_"Just hanging by a moment"_

The music began to fade as the song reached its end. Raimundo's voice dropped just a little to accommodate for the change.

_"Hanging by a moment"_

The magic of his serenade began to wear off and Kimiko shook her head, slowly coming out of her dream like state.

_"Hanging by a moment"_

The Bracelet of Aikou began slowly began to feel cooler against her wrist.

_"Hanging by a moment here with you"_

Then, the world came rushing back and Kimiko Tohomiko realized just what he'd been doing.

"RAIMUNDO!" She screeched, thoroughly embarrassed by the situation. Why she hadn't quite figured out what was going on before was a mystery but she was back in her body and just a little mad.

"You're dead Rai!" She picked up the nearest thing to her, which just happened to be one of her high-heeled boots, and tossed it out the window, straight at Raimundo.

There was a clunk and an 'ow!' and Kimiko turned and stalked back towards her part of the room. She passed by Raimundo's section and her scowl softened just a bit. He was just doing it because he loved her, or well _thought_ he loved her. And it was every girl's dream to have someone sing a love song to them.

And, she had to admit; it was kind of funny to hear him sing.

Kimiko allowed herself a small giggle before laying back down on her futon. She would apologize to Raimundo in the morning.

...And ask him for her boot back.

* * *

Kimiko woke up the next morning feeling guilty...and she couldn't remember why. Then she turned sat up and saw her boot sitting next to her futon. She cringed, right, the whole 'Raimundo serenading her' thing. She admitted that throwing her boot at him might have been a bit extreme but it had been the first thing she could think of.

It was so weird though. Even if, on some level, it were every girl's dream to be sung to she would have normally thrown the boot at him much sooner. But the whole time, or at least a good portion of the time, Raimundo had been singing she'd be...transfixed. It wasn't even like he was _that_ good of a singer. He was good, yes, she'd admit that, but so amazing that it would leave her astounded...definitely not. And what had been going on with the Bracelet of Aikou? Normally she forgot she was even wearing it but she was aware that last night it had been almost painfully warm against her skin. Only she'd been too struck dumb to do anything about it.

Shaking her head and, deciding to ask Dojo when she saw him, Kimiko climbed out of bed and pulled on her tunic. She sat down, running a brush through her hair and pondered what she was going to say to Raimundo. Somehow sorry didn't seem appropriate. She _was _sorry that she'd hit him with her boot, that had been uncalled for, but she wasn't sure if she was sorry for not liking his little display of affection.

She sighed and pulled her hair into its trademark pigtails. She would just have to wing it. She stood up and put a thoughtful finger to her chin.

_Now let's see...If I were a love struck Raimundo where would I be?_

Raimundo would be a breakfast. Love struck or no he was still Raimundo and would still want his food. She walked off towards the kitchen smiling. On her way she passed Dojo. She smiled at the little dragon.

"Dojo!"

The dragon looked up. "Yeah?"

"I have to ask you a question. This bracelet," She held up her left wrist, "Is it supposed to get really hot?"

Dojo scratched under his chin. "I dunno, why?"

Kimiko blushed. "It got really warm last night while...it just got really warm. I hope nothing's wrong."

Dojo waved his claw in the air. "I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe that just means the Wu's about to wear off. I'll go check the ancient scrolls for you though okay?"

Kimiko beamed. "Thanks Dojo! You're the best."

The dragon blushed humbly and grinned. "I know."

Kimiko laughed and continued on towards the kitchen. She entered and was greeted by the smell of eggs and bacon once again. Omi was squeezing orange juice and Clay was at the stove. Raimundo was at the table putting plates down for everyone. He looked up as Kimiko walked in and smiled.

"Morning beautiful." He winked at her as he headed over to the cupboard and pulled out another plate, presumably for her.

"Morning Rai, morning guys." She greeted the others before walking over to the table and helping Raimundo arrange the silverware. "Listen Rai, about last night-"

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Kimiko looked up in surprise. He was sorry? For what? "You're sorry? For what?"

"For serenading you like that. I know you're not in to all that mushy stuff and I did it anyways." He grinned guiltily. "I just couldn't help yourself."

"No," Kimiko muttered looking down at the table. "You probably couldn't." Out loud however she accepted his apology. "No worries Rai. It's over and done with." She smiled at him.

He looked up at her fully for the first time she'd entered the room and she gasped in surprise. There on his forehead, faint though it was, was an outline of the tip of her heel. She walked over to him and looked at it more closely.

"That's an imprint from my boot isn't it?" She asked guiltily.

Raimundo's fingers reached up and ran over the faint indent. He grinned down at her. "Yeah, but it's no big deal. I've taken worse from Jack Spicer's goons."

"Yeah but still, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown it in the first place. You just...caught me off guard was all."

"So...we're okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah Rai, we're okay."

Raimundo let out a whoop of joy, throwing his arms up into the air. Kimiko's smile grew as she watched him, enjoying the pleasant warmth spreading through her body.

_We're definitely okay._

* * *

"Uh-oh."

Dojo looked up from the scroll he'd been reading. The nice organizing job Raimundo and Kimiko had spent hours laboring over was ruined. The small dragon was surrounded by unrolled scrolls and a few rolled ones that simply hadn't smelt like the one he was looking for. It had taken a little while to find it but eventually he had. He looked down at the ancient text again, rereading it.

_The Bracelet of Aikou is mainly an emotion detector. Although it can create false emotions in a person it can also enhance ones that are already there. The bracelet also affects the wearer as well. When the wearer begins to realize their true feelings for the one they used it on the bracelet will reach extreme temperatures. An extreme hot for those who return the feelings of affection and an extreme cold for those who do not. There is no way, regardless of the wearer's true feelings, to end the spell other then to let it run its course._

"Now...how do I tell that to Kimiko?"

* * *

Okay there's chapter 4 I hope you guys liked it. I had fun writing this chapter. But like halfway through Rai's little song I just had to stop for like 10 minutes to laugh because, of course, I have this ridiculous image in my head. I wish I could show you guys what I see in my mind. It's hilarious!

I also want to put that I don't own Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse. I didn't want to say that in the beginning and give it away.

Okay, I don't normally do this but I'm asking for a certain number of reviews this time before I'll update the chapter. I mean in chapter 1 I got over 20 reviews and now, 3 chapters later I'm only at 48, which I think is pretty sad. I really want you guys to be able to enjoy my story but if you guys want regular updates then I would like regular reviews.

And thank you to those who have reviewed! I greatly appreciate it. I live off of your praise! I wish I could thank you all individually but FF made that stupid rule so I can't.

So please, R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	5. You Must Have Papa's Permission

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Kimiko looked down at the cellular device in her hand. Every so often it would beep, meaning one thing. Kimiko had a message. She flipped open her phone and the text message stared up at her.

_Wats goin on? Y haven't you called lately? Somethin's up call me._

It was from Keiko. She really should call her friend. She tried to give her updates at least a few times a week. Unfortunately with everything that had been going on she'd completely forgotten to call. Quickly she snapped the cell phone shut, exiting out of the text message. She opened it again and dialed Keiko's number. It rang for a few seconds before she finally picked up.

"Moshi, moshi!"

"Hey Keiko!"

"Kimiko! Hi! Why haven't you called me? It's not another ten thousand years of darkness thing is it?"

Kimiko laughed. "No nothing like that."

"Then what's up?"

"It's Raimundo."

"The hot one?"

Kimiko flushed and let out a slight laugh. "Yeah the hot one."

"What's up? He pantsing Omi again?"

Kimiko laughed again. "No, he's in love with me."

"WHAT?"

Kimiko moved the phone away from her ear and cringed as her friend shrieked. She'd almost forgotten how high-pitched Keiko could get. "Chill out, he's not really in love with me. He just thinks he is."

"Spill. Now."

Kimiko sighed. "See there's this Shen-Gong-Wu that makes a person of the opposite sex fall in love with you. I, uh, accidentally used it on Rai."

"Uh-uh." Keiko's voice was clearly unbelieving. "Accidentally...so you say."

"KEIKO!" Now it was Kimiko's turn to shriek.

From the other line Keiko laughed. "I'm just kidding. It was a total accident."

Kimiko could tell Keiko still didn't believe her but she didn't push it. "Yeah, so know he's madly in love with me and no one knows when it'll wear off."

"It can't be that bad." Kimiko could almost hear the shrug in Keiko's voice.

She plopped down onto her futon. "Keiko you don't understand...he was serenading me."

Keiko burst into laughter and Kimiko frowned. That hadn't quite been the reaction she'd been expecting. Where was Keiko's sympathy for her plight? Wasn't that what best friends were for? "You know it's not _that_ funny."

Slowly Keiko's laughter subsided and she could hear her gasp and try to recover her breath. "You're right. Gomen. What did he sing to you?"

"Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse." Kimiko answered without thinking.

Keiko's laughter sounded again and Kimiko smacked her forehead. "Keiko! Can you at least try to be sympathetic here?" She was all but begging now.

"Yes because it must be so hard to have a very hot guy sing you a love song. And give you flowers too."

"Actually..." Kimiko frowned. "He hasn't given me flowers yet. Which is weird because it's the first thing you'd expect a romantic guy, which he has defiantly become, to do for the girl he's in lo-"

Right on cue a large bouquet of lilies was shoved under her nose. "Here beautiful, for you."

Kimiko was vaguely aware that she had dropped her phone and that Keiko's laughter could once again be heard, no doubt brought on by Raimundo's 'beautiful'. She gently took the flowers from him and gaped at them. They were lovely, a rich pink in the center and the edges white. Her breath caught in her throat. Lily's were her favorite flowers.

"Thank you Rai, they're beautiful."

She turned to see a grin spread over Raimundo's face. "I know lilies are your favorite so I went and got some."

"But...but lilies don't grow around here."

He shrugged. "That's why I used the Golden Tiger Claws."

Kimiko gasped. "The Golden Tiger Claws! Rai, you could get in trouble for using the Shen-Gong-Wu without a good reason."

"But you are a good reason Kimiko!"

Kimiko was torn between blushing and rolling her eyes. It was sweet of him to think that but there was a certain level of corniness to his statement. Finally she settled for shaking her head while her pale cheeks took on a rosy hue.

"Wait a second...how did you know lilies were my favorite?"

Keiko, who had been laughing this whole time, suddenly fell silent. Kimiko glared at her phone before snatching it up. "Keiko?" She asked, her voice threatening, while she shooed Raimundo out of her room with her hands and threw him another quick smile of thanks.

"What?" Keiko asked back, feigning ignorance.

"How did Raimundo know lilies are my favorite flower?"

"He heh..." Kimiko laughed nervously. "Lucky guess?"

Kimiko made the noise of the incorrect buzzer on many game shows. "Wrong! You want to know what I think?"

"Okay! Okay! He e-mailed me a few days ago and asked. I thought it was sweet so I told him."

Kimiko's eyes widened! "You knew?"

Keiko laughed. "About the Wu spell, no. But the flowers? Of course! You think it's a coincidence I decided to text you when I did?"

Kimiko flopped onto her back, the bouquet of lilies still clutched in one hand. "The next time I'm in Tokyo you're dead."

Keiko laughed louder. "Got it!"

"No I'm serious."

"Sure you are. Now tell me...what has Raimundo done to get your attention? Besides singing to you of course. Is he any good?"

Kimiko sighed shaking her head. Keiko tended to have a one track mind sometimes. "Surprisingly, yes, he's actually pretty good. But other then him serenading me nothing all that extreme. I get called beautiful _a lot_ and he hugs me at least twice a day. But other then the fact that he said I love you nothing really big happened."

"Wait! He said he loved you?"

"Uh, duh! Love Shen-Gong-Wu here. I'm pretty sure those three words go along with the goofy smiles and 'beautiful's. That kind of stuff is usually a packaged deal."

Keiko giggled. "Wow. What'd you say to him?"

Kimiko had to stop and think back that particular morning. What had she said to him? "I think I just sort of said 'right...' and sat down."

There was total silence on the other end of the line. A sure sign of Keiko's disapproval.

"I didn't know what else to do! I mean it was the second day of him being under the spell. I just kind of panicked. I mean 'I love you' is one of the last things I expected to hear from Rai."

"Well...now that you have...how do you feel about it?"

Kimiko sighed. "What are you my psychiatrist?"

"No I'm your best friend. But, if you ever needed one I'd be more then happy to do it!"

Kimiko shook her head. "Then start acting like my best friend and help me take my mind off of this!"

_Raimundo's been on my mind enough as it is lately. I don't need any help with that._

"Alright, alright." Keiko sighed then quickly perked up. "Did I tell you about the club I went to last weekend?"

Kimiko smiled, glad for the change in subject. "No you didn't. Now tell me all about!"

* * *

Kimiko stretched as she looked around the temple grounds. Her talk with Keiko yesterday had been really refreshing. She'd put the flowers in some water and placed them beside her bed as well. The smelt wonderful and looked lovely. Now she was wondering what she was going to do. Clay was training with Master Fung (it was his day to work specifically on his element) so the other three dragons had the day off. Omi had decided to use the day for some well deserved rest (sleeping in late had become the most normal teenagerish hobby the monk had picked up) and she hadn't seen Raimundo at all.

That disappointed her.

She wasn't sure if it was because she'd become so accustomed to the Dragon of the Wind being around her whenever possible or not. She really did enjoy Raimundo's company, even without the love spell. She looked at her wrist and wondered when the spell was going to wear off. Dojo had said it might last about a week and a week was up today. Maybe that's why she hadn't seen him. The Wu had finally worn off and he was just too embarrassed to talk to her.

But...then why hadn't the Bracelet fallen off yet?

She shook her head. Obviously the spell hadn't worn off yet. Otherwise the Bracelet would have fallen off as well. Wherever Raimundo was he was obviously not there because he was too embarrassed to talk to her. That made her a little nervous too. The last time he'd disappeared with no explanation he'd shown up again, hours later, serenading her. She really hoped he wouldn't do that again.

"Guess what beautiful." A voice whispered in her ear.

Kimiko jumped in surprise her eyes narrowing. "RAI!" She snapped at the Dragon of the Wind. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Shhh." Raimundo ordered. "You'll wake up the baby."

Kimiko froze. "The what?" She turned around slowly.

"The baby." Raimundo repeated holding out a sleeping Omi who was clad in light green footie pajamas, a matching baby bonnet, and a white bib that said 'I'm a big boy!'

"Rai..." Kimiko pointed to Omi like he was a foreign object, one that she should be very scared of. "What did you do to Omi?"

"What?" Raimundo blinked innocently. "I think he looks cute."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow at the Brazilian boy. "And why did you dress him up like a baby?"

"I thought girls liked to play house."

"Yeah...right. Okay let's try a different approach. How did you mange to dress him up?"

Raimundo shrugged. "Believe it or not, he's actually a pretty heavy sleeper."

Kimiko shook her head. "And you decided that we should play house because...?"

Raimundo grinned. "Practice."

Kimiko knew she wasn't going to like the answer but she asked the question anyway. "Practice for what?"

"For our baby!"

That had been exactly what Kimiko had been expecting but hearing him say it out loud was still a shock. "WHAT!"

Her yell caused Omi to stir and his eyes slid open. He looked at Kimiko then down to his wardrobe. Finally he looked up at Raimundo. "I am most confused..." He placed a hand against Raimundo's face and pushed the Brazilian boy as far away as he could get. "And most uncomfortable. Please let me down."

Raimundo did as instructed and set Omi on the ground. The monk shook his head and looked over at Kimiko. "Why am I wearing this ridiculous outfit?"

Kimiko stifled a giggle. "Rai wanted to...to play house! And he decided you were going to be the baby." She burst into laughter.

"I believe I will go change now. I do not like this bib." He lifted the bib between two fingers.

"Okay Omi." Kimiko managed from between giggles.

Omi walked off and Raimundo turned to Kimiko. "I guess house is out of the question."

He looked so devastated by the news that it was actually rather funny. To see the usually sarcastic boy reduced to a pout because Omi refused to play house was about as amusing as it got around the temple. Kimiko continued to laugh until there were tears in her eyes. It felt good to laugh that hard; it had been awhile since she'd done so. Raimundo watched her with interest.

"Did I say something funny?"

This only caused Kimiko to laugh harder. Finally she stopped laughing and turned to face Raimundo. "Thanks for that Rai, I needed to laugh."

Raimundo brightened instantly. "Glad to help."

Kimiko giggled and, in an act of randomness, bumped her hip against his. "What no beautiful?"

Raimundo grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. "Glad to help, beautiful."

Kimiko wriggled out of his grip and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm going to go play Goo Zombies 4, you in?"

Raimundo shook his head, a boyish grin spreading across his face. "Can't. I've got to get ready for something."

Again Kimiko raised an eyebrow, giving him a suspicious look. "Get ready for what?"

Raimundo winked. "It's a surprise." With that he ran off.

Kimiko watched him run off, still wearing a suspicious look. _What is he up to?_ Kimiko shrugged. _Oh well, he'll tell me eventually._

* * *

Night had fallen over the Xiaolin Temple and Kimiko was beginning to wonder if Raimundo's surprise hadn't been for her. She hadn't seen him since he'd disappeared almost 3 hours ago. She was just about to go and look for him when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, one holding a thermos.

"It's ready."

Kimiko wiggled out of his embrace again and turned to face him. "What's ready?"

Raimundo grinned. "The surprise."

Kimiko eyed him wearily, she knew he wouldn't trick her but still, surprises from Raimundo usually weren't a good thing. The last thing she needed was to be sung to again. "What surprise?"

"I can't tell you that. It would ruin the surprise."

Kimiko pointed to his hand that was wearing the Golden Tiger Claws. "You've got the Golden Tiger Claws, which means we're leaving the temple grounds." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

Raimundo held up the thermos. "I've got hot chocolate!" He told her in a sing-songy voice.

Kimiko uncrossed her arms and looked at the thermos. True hot chocolate was her favorite drink but that didn't mean she was going to cave just because he'd brought some. "Tell me where we're going or I won't go."

Raimundo sighed. "Alright, you win. We're going to Brazil. A little cliff that over looks Río de Janeiro. We'll only be there for a little while I promise." Kimiko still looked uncertain. "Please! I promise it'll be worth it!"

Kimiko sighed, finally caving. "Fine. I'll go."

"YES!" He grinned at her. "Trust me, you're gonna love it!" He held out the thermos. "Hold this please?" Kimiko took it from him. "Thanks." He smiled and wrapped his now free arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and holding her tightly. He raised his other hand into the air.

"GOLDEN TIGER CLAWS!" He slashed at the air and a rip opened up before.

"Now close you're eyes." He instructed.

She did as she was told and felt herself being lifted off the ground and thrown forward. She felt the gentle pulling sensation that came with using the Tiger Claws for a few seconds and then she was safely back on the ground.

"Okay," She felt him remove his arm from her waist and take the thermos full of hot chocolate back. "You can open your eyes now."

Kimiko slowly opened her eyes and looked in front of her. She gasped in surprise. They were standing on a small cliff that overlooked a busy city by the sea. The view was amazing. The tiny town seemed to have shut itself down for the night because there were very few lights scattered throughout it. She smiled.

"Wow...this is beautiful. What a view!"

Beside her Raimundo grinned. "I know, and that's not even the best part!"

Kimiko turned to face him, a hand on her hip. "What could be nicer then that view?" She asked, pointing to the peaceful town.

"The one above it." He pointed up to the night sky.

Kimiko followed his finger and looked up at the sky. Again she gasped. The stars were shinning brightly down at them, twinkling in the sky. Their distance from the city and the city's few lights allowed them to see the stars perfectly. "Oh wow, that's awesome! You can never see the stars this clearly in Tokyo. There are too many lights."

Raimundo nodded and sat down on the grass, patting the space next to him. "We could have seen them just as clearly at the temple but I wanted it to be just the two of us."

Kimiko smiled warmly at the Dragon of the Wind. He opened the thermos and poured some hot chocolate into the lid before passing it to Kimiko. She took a sip and sighed gratefully. "Thanks Rai."

"Your welcome beautiful." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him.

"What's Río like?" She asked taking another sip of the warm liquid.

"During the day it's pretty much just another sea port town. But at night the city really comes to life." He grinned. "Especially when we have fiestas! The city may look like it's asleep but don't be fooled. We just don't go for the bright neon lights like other places."

"Tell me about them, please."

He nodded. "Sure."

Almost two hours later Raimundo was still telling her about life in good old Río de Janeiro. It was amazing how content she was to just sit there and listen to him tell her stories about his home. They didn't talk about their pasts a lot, any of them, and so it was nice to hear what he'd used to be like. He'd always had this aloof manner that made her think that his past had been hard or troubled but it wasn't. In fact he'd been a perfectly happy kid, watching his parents run the circus and wanting to do that someday.

She felt her eyes drupe. She wasn't sure exactly what time it was but she knew it was getting late. Still she wanted to keep listening to Raimundo. She fought sleep off for as long as she could but, eventually, it won. Her head lolled onto Raimundo's shoulder and her breathing evened out. The last thing she remembered was Raimundo's voice and warmth before sleep over took her completely.

* * *

Raimundo looked down as he felt Kimiko's head fall gently onto his shoulder. He smiled down at the sleeping girl. Just looking at her was enough to make him smile and forget everything around him. He glanced at his watch, almost 11:00. They'd been out later then he'd intended. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he scooped the sleeping girl into his arms. Using his element he carefully lifted the thermos and placed it on her sleeping form.

He quickly called up another gentle breeze to hold Kimiko up while he slid one of his arms from underneath her. He held up the Tiger Claws and smiled softly at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"Golden Tiger Claws." He whispered before slipping his arm back underneath the bend of her knees and jumping swiftly into the rip.

* * *

Kimiko woke up the next morning to a clicking noise. She frowned and pulled the covers over her head, mentally willing the noise to go away. The clicking noise didn't go away, however, and Kimiko groaned internally, realizing she was up for the rest of the day. It took her tired brain a few minutes to realize that the infernal clicking noise was actually someone typing something on a computer.

Her eyes snapped open. She had the only laptop in the temple, which meant that someone was in her room. Without her permission. And using her stuff. Without her permission. She sat up and glared at the culprit.

Raimundo looked up from her laptop and smiled. "Morning beautiful. Sleep well?"

Kimiko began to move her head but stop mid-nod. "Rai? What are you doing with my laptop?"

Raimundo looked up from the glowing screen and smiled again. "I'm e-mailing your dad."

If there had been any sleep still in her body it was driven away by that statement. "You're what?"

"E-mailing your dad."

"Why?" She asked him; sure she'd heard him wrong. Why in the world could possibly need to e-mail her dad for?

"Well I thought I should get his permission to date you. Isn't that how it's done in Japan?"

He was what? Kimiko jumped out of bed and ran over to him. She lunged at the laptop and snapped it shut, barely avoiding Raimundo's fingers. "Oh...he won't mind..." Kimiko smiled nervously. Her father, in fact, would mind so the less he knew about the whole Bracelet of Aikou incident, the better.

Raimundo raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

Kimiko nodded furiously. "Positive! He told me so himself, he said he like all the Dragons. You especially."

Raimundo beamed. "So then it's okay if I ask you to go to town with me this afternoon?" He asked, referring to the small town that was only a few hours away from the temple (a quick 10 minute flight on Dojo).

Kimiko nodded. "Yeah sure."

"Great!" Raimundo smiled even wider. "It's a date!" He kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the room.

Kimiko sat with her legs folded underneath her and watched him go, an unidentifiable emotion in her eyes.

"Yeah Rai...it's a date."

* * *

TaDa! There's chapter 5! Chapter 6 is going to be there big 'date'. I hope you guys liked this chapter. A few things I wanted to make note on:

I have no idea if lilies grow in China, they might but for the purpose of this story let's just say they don't grow around the temple. And I'm sure there's a time difference between China and Brazil (if it's night in China it's probably day in Brazil) but I'm too pressed for time (I have not even 5 more minutes on the computer today) to look it up and make the necessary changes so, please, forgive me for that.

Also I want to say thank you to everyone for reviewing! I'm not ever going to ask you for something like 20 reviews a chapter but when I go from 22 to reviews for one chapter to about 12 that says something's up. If it's me just tell me and I'll be glad to try and make it better, that's why I want you to review and tell me. Anyways I just wanted to say that... so thanks for listening to me ramble, I'm sure it must have been getting annoying.

And yes, the bad grammer/spelling/punctuation in Keiko's text message was done on purpose.

R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	6. A Little Kiss Never Hurt Anybody

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_ I also don't own Miss Congeniality either.

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Kimiko walked over to her trunk of clothes and pulled it open. She reached in and shuffled through the many clothes inside, debating on an outfit to wear to town. She wanted to look nice for her date with Raimundo. Okay...so it wasn't a real date, or well maybe it was but...well it was complicated. The whole Shen-Gong-Wu thing had been making things sort of complicated lately. She held a shirt up to her chest and looked in the mirror, before frowning and tossing it to the side. Why was she so worried about this date? It wasn't like it really meant anything to either of them.

...Right?

Sighing and throwing another shirt into the rejected pile she began to dig through her trunk again. She'd have to think this over later. Right now she had an outfit emergency to tend to. She began tossing clothes behind her in her haste to find the perfect outfit. A sudden 'oof' brought her out of her frenzy and she looked behind her to see Dojo with a pair of her shorts over his head.

"Dojo! Oh I'm so sorry!" She hurried over and removed the offending article of clothing. "Are you okay?"

The dragon nodded. "Yeah." He looked around her room. "What are you looking for?"

Kimiko sighed. "An outfit."

"What's wrong with the one you're already wearing?" He asked, eyeing her usual tunic.

"Nothing for here at the temple. I'm looking for an outfit to wear on my 'date'" She held up her fingers in the quote symbol. "with Raimundo."

Dojo shrugged. "Why? He's so in love with you he's not gonna care what you look like."

"Yeah I know. But _I _care! And it's driving me crazy!" Kimiko yanked at her pigtails in frustration.

"Why would you c- oh!" Dojo's eyes widened in understanding.

"What!" The girl grabbed the dragon. "You know why I'm freaking out over this don't you! Tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me!" She shook the dragon vigorously as she spoke.

Dojo squirmed out of her grip and placed a hand on his head, which was still spinning. "Okay, but you're not gonna like it."

Kimiko sat down and crossed her arms over her chest. "What is it?"

"Remember when you asked me to look into the bracelet because it got really warm?" Kimiko nodded. "Well... that happened because you were realizing your feelings for Raimundo. It does it with everyone. Hot if you like them back and cold if you don't."

"But I...I don't. That is...I just..."

Dojo smiled sympathetically at the young Japanese girl. She'd been reduced to babbling. "Listen," Maybe, in order for her to function properly he would have to stretch the truth...just a little. "You're probably just liking the nice, sweet Raimundo." He batted his eyelashes at her jokingly. "I'm sure you'll both be fine once the Wu wears off." It wasn't a complete lie...

It seemed to calm Kimiko down though. "Thanks Dojo." She smiled. "Now..." She held up two different shirts. "Could please help me pick out an outfit?"

Dojo rubbed his chin. "I'm not sure you want advice from a 15 hundred year old dragon."

"I'm desperate!" Kimiko pouted and clasped her hands together. "Please Dojo?"

Dojo caved. "Alright."

Kimiko grinned. "Yes! Now," She held up the two tops once again. "Which one do you like better?"

* * *

Kimiko grinned excitedly at the busy town in front of her. It always made her feel better to be back in the city, or at least the closet thing to it near the temple. Beside her Raimundo was looking at the different stores and places to hang out.

"So...?" He asked her, smiling down at the petite girl. "What do you want to do first?"

"Anything's fine with me. Did you have something special planned?"

Raimundo grinned. "Maybe."

"Rai!" Kimiko pouted again, knowing it was a useful technique to get what she wanted. "Come on, tell me, please?"

Raimundo smiled. "Nah, nothing really planned out. I just thought we could wing it and do whatever we wanted."

Kimiko grinned. "Can we go shopping?"

Raimundo smiled again. "Whatever you want to do."

"YES!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him off to the nearest store.

They left that store relatively emptied handed and headed for the next store. A shoe store. Kimiko grinned; she'd been needing a new pair of flip-flops. She dragged him off into the store and Raimundo followed her wordlessly. Dojo (who had flown them there) watched from where he was resting above them. He would be ready to get them when they were done, he would know when they were ready. For now he just wanted to watch them while they were still in sight.

He smiled and wondered if Kimiko realized she had yet to let go of Raimundo's hand. Or that he had silently intertwined their fingers.

* * *

"So where to next?" Kimiko asked as they walked out of their 5th store, still hand in hand.

Raimundo's stomach growled and he looked down sheepishly. I'm a little hungry. How 'bout we go get something to eat."

"Okay!"

They continued walking down the street and Raimundo turned to face her. "So, what do you feel like having?"

Kimiko thought about it for a moment. "Italian sounds really good right now. How about some spaghetti or pizza?"

"Sounds cool."

They walked for a few more minutes before finding a nice, small Italian restaurant. Raimundo held the door open for her before following her in. It was cool and quiet inside the restaurant and the lights were dimmed to give the place a more relaxed atmosphere. A waiter greeted them and led them to a nice booth in the back.

"Here you are. Someone will be with you shortly to take your order." He handed them both menus before walking away.

Kimiko scanned the menu trying to decide what she wanted. It was rare they got to eat anything other then what was provided at the temple so she wanted to pick something good.

"You wanna share a plate of spaghetti?"

Kimiko eyed Raimundo over her menu. Spaghetti sounded good but...she was suddenly given the mental of image of her and Raimundo pulling a Lady and the Tramp move with the spaghetti. She bit back her laughter as the two of them kissed comically in her head, by total accident of course. However comical the situation might be in her head she was pretty sure it wouldn't be quite so amusing if that happened in real life so she shook her head.

"Nah. I think I just want some pizza."

"Okay." He scanned the menu quickly once more. "You know what? Pizza sounds good, I think I'll have that too."

No sooner had the words left his mouth when a waitress flounced over to them. She flipped her long dark hair and smiled flirtatiously at Raimundo. "Hey," She purred. "What can I get you?"

"Yeah, uh, can I get a medium cheese pizza and a coke?" He looked over at Kimiko who nodded in agreement. "Make that two cokes."

"Sure thing." She smiled flirtatiously again before walking into the back.

Kimiko glared at the girl's retreating figure and stuck out her tongue childishly. The waitress walked back over and placed two cokes in front of them. She grinned at Raimundo and gazed indifferently at Kimiko before turning and heading back to the kitchen.

Kimiko grit her teeth. The nerve of that girl! Being so rude and openly flirting with her date! ...Not to say that Raimundo was her date, not really. But still, a guy and girl walk into a nice romantic restaurant and are given a booth in the back. It does give a certain image. Even if they boy only thought he liked the girl and the girl still couldn't figure quite what she felt because of it.

She spent the next while fuming to herself while Raimundo looked at her worriedly. She took at sip of her coke and nearly crushed the glass in her hand as the waitress giggled overly loudly to one of her friends in the back. Finally, just when she thought she was going to explode in anger, the waitress came out carrying their pizza. She set it down of the table and smiled at Raimundo.

"Enjoy." She gave a girly giggle and winked at him before walking away again, swaying her hips seductively.

Kimiko growled under her breath and watched the girl walk away, her grip on her knife tightening to the point where her knuckles were turning white. "Floozy." She muttered under her breath.

Raimundo looked up from the slice of pizza he was removing from the pie. "Did you say something?"

Kimiko flushed red at being heard. "No, no nothing! You must be hearing things Rai."

Raimundo grinned. "You just called that girl a floozy didn't you?"

"N-no..." Kimiko lied unconvincingly.

"Are you jealous?" He asked her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Kimiko flushed even more. "No..."

Raimundo grinned. "You are, aren't you?"

Kimiko sighed but didn't bother to deny it. She braced herself for Raimundo's ego to kick in. He was going to tell her that 'of course she was jealous. After all he _was _adorable and funny and who could ever have a sun kissed complexion like his...'

"You know I'm all yours right?"

Kimiko looked up from her plate in surprise. "What?"

Raimundo smiled gently. "I'm all yours. I only care about you. So you don't have to be jealous."

Kimiko flushed again and was surprised to find that she didn't find that statement as corny as she thought she would. "Thanks Rai. That, uh, means a lot to me."

He grinned and took a bite of his pizza. "Anytime beautiful, anytime."

Kimiko grinned back and took a slice of the pizza. The rest of the meal passed in a comfortable silence and before long they were calling the waitress over to get the check. They paid and, as they were walking out the door, Raimundo slipped his arm around Kimiko's waist. She turned her head to see the waitress that had served them watching them with a pout. Kimiko grinned at her and couldn't resist sticking her tongue out in a silent celebration of victory.

"So..." Raimundo put his hand up to shield his eyes, as he looked skyward. "No sign of Dojo. You wanna catch a movie."

Kimiko nodded. "Okay."

They walked down to the movie theater and looked up at their choices. "Well which one do you want to go see?"

Kimiko was silent as she reread the movie titles before finally picking one. "Miss Congeniality!"

Raimundo nodded and bought their tickets before ushering her inside the dimly lit theater.

* * *

Two and a half hours later they both walked out, Kimiko with a soda in hand, laughing furiously. They scanned the skies once again for Dojo but he was still nowhere to be found. Shrugging they grinned before bursting into laughter again. Raimundo's laughter subsided before Kimiko's and he looked around, grinning at the sight of a shop.

"Come on Kimi," He gently tugged on her arm. "There's somewhere we need to go."

Kimiko, still laughing, nodded and followed him. "Where are we going?" She asked just as he stopped in front of a large store. Kimiko looked up at the sign. "A jewelry store? Why are we stopping here?"

"You'll see." Raimundo grinned before pulling her inside. He led her over to a large display case of rings. Very pretty rings. "Pick which one you want beautiful."

Kimiko gasped. "But Rai there so...so..."

Raimundo shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Just pick which one you like."

Kimiko nodded, still in a slight daze, and choose a small ring gold ring with a tiny pearl set in the middle. "That one, if it's okay. That one's my favorite."

Raimundo nodded and he paid for it and they stepped outside into the bright light. Dojo slithered up to them and smiled.

"Ready to go?"

Raimundo nodded. "Yeah, just one second." He turned back to face Kimiko and he held up the small box that had her ring in it.

He opened the box and took out the ring, sliding it onto her finger. "Here. It's to remind you that I'll always be there for you and that I'm always gonna love you. No matter what."

Kimiko looked down to the side, her eyes welling up with tears. It was so sweet of Raimundo to give her that ring for those reasons but the problem was he _wouldn't_ feel that way after the Wu wore off. And that knowledge hurt, a lot.

Suddenly two fingers found their way under her chin and forced her to look up at Raimundo. "I promise." He told her smiling gently and slowly bringing his mouth down to hers.

His lips were on hers for a full 20 seconds before she could fully comprehend what was going on. The sensation of his kiss had completely dulled her senses for a few seconds but she was back in control and very aware that Raimundo was kissing her.

And that's not what she wanted, not like this.

"No..." She pushed him back and Raimundo immediately let go of her. "No I can't...you just...I don't..." Kimiko hung her head; unable to find the words she was looking for. "I just...can't."

Raimundo looked at her, his emerald eyes filled with pain. "But why not, I thought..."

"No." Kimiko said, her voice a little firmer then before but no less sad. "I don't..." She couldn't finish her thought. Instead she turned to the little dragon at their feet. "Come on Dojo. Let's go home."

Dojo hung his head but changed into his large size anyways. Sadly, Kimiko and Raimundo made their way to the dragon and climbed on, sitting much farther away from each other then they had on the way there. Dojo's looked back at the two dragons, one heartbroken and one confused and a little heartbroken as well, with a sad glance as he took off. Things hadn't been this bad when Dashi had used the bracelet on Wuya.

But then again...Dashi hadn't already been in love with Wuya.

And things would probably be worse once the Wu wore off. Nothing at all like the simple and pain free normalcy that had returned to Dashi and Wuya.

But then again...Wuya hadn't already been in love with Dashi either.

* * *

"Keiko you have to help me!" Kimiko cried desperately into the phone. "I don't know what to do!"

"Well, for starters you could tell me what happened."

Kimiko sighed. "Rai and I went on a date today."

"A date?"

"Well," Kimiko bit her lip. "I don't really know if it was a date. He thought it was, obviously, and I guess I sort of treated it like one..."

"Then it was a date." Keiko clarified. "Now that doesn't sound too horrible."

"But then he bought me a ring and...and he kissed me."

There was silence on the other line before, "Still not seeing the horrible-ness you were talking about earlier."

"I-I pushed him away."

"Oh," Keiko let out a whoosh of air. "That could be pretty horrible. Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know..."

"Did you want to kiss him?"

"I guess, sort of..." Kimiko sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I did."

"Then why'd you push him away?"

"Because of the Wu!"

"Oh."

Kimiko continued ranting. "That stupid Wu has messed everything up! Rai and I were fine before it showed up! Now I just don't know what to do! I want him to kiss me, I really do, just...not while he's under the Wu's spell. Not _because _he's under the Wu's spell. I want him to kiss me because he really wants to, because he really likes me."

Keiko was silent so Kimiko continued speaking. "And now the Wu's going to wear off and he's going to go back as seeing me as a little sister and I'll-"

"Hold up!" Keiko interrupted her. "Who said he saw you like that in the first place. You never know, he might like you. I mean he is a teenage boy and you are the only girl for miles around."

Kimiko frowned. "Yeah, but that doesn't make me feel much better."

"No...I guess it wouldn't."

Both girls were silent while the other one tried to think of something to say. Finally Kimiko settled on the truth. "Keiko...I...I think I like him."

Keiko was silent for a minute before, "Yeah, you do Kimiko."

She bit her lip again. "And now I'm afraid of what's going to happen when he stops liking me back."

* * *

Kimiko walked through the halls of the Xiaolin Temple trying to find Raimundo. For someone who had been practically attached at her hip for the past 8 days he had been avoiding her quite well. Although it wasn't exactly like she'd been trying to find him the whole time either. Sighing, she was about to give up when she heard a noise. It was the sound of clothes rustling and, deciding to see who it was, Kimiko continued forward.

She peeked through the door leading outside and saw Raimundo punching and kicking at the air. Obviously he was practicing, something the old Raimundo would have done when he was feeling hurt or angry. Slowly Kimiko approached him, stopping a few feet away.

Raimundo snapped his leg into the air and brought it back to his side one last time before turning and facing her. He had obviously felt her presence the moment she'd started watching him. He watched her in silence, his eyes still betraying the pain he felt from her rejection.

"Hey Rai." She whispered, taking a step closer to him.

"Hey." His voice was flat and he sounded defeated. He hung his head so his dark auburn bangs covered his eyes.

"Rai, listen. About this afternoon." Raimundo lifted his head to look at her and Kimiko bit her lip once again.

_I don't want to hurt him but I don't want to just tell him it's okay either... I have to apologize, even if I did have my reasons it was pretty rude to just diss him then blow him off like that._

"I'm sorry about freaking out on you like that."

Raimundo looked up, hopeful. He looked so hopeful that Kimiko just couldn't bring herself to crush him again, in any way. "It's not that I didn't want to kiss you it's just..." _You can do this Kimiko!_ "I wasn't ready, that's all. Please don't be upset."

Raimundo's face brightened and he walked over to her. "Do you...do you think you're ready now?"

Kimiko weighed the options. She either said she was and just let him kiss her or she said she wasn't and tried to think of another good reason why without breaking his heart. She bit her lip again, she was running out of excuses! She looked up at his face. He looked so adorably shy and hopeful that Kimiko found her ability to say no seemed to have been shut off.

"Yes Rai, I'm ready now." Raimundo's smile widened and he walked even closer to her.

I'm sure it's just for a few more days anyways.

She closed her eyes as Raimundo's placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. She felt his lips descend onto hers and wrapped her arms around his neck, returning the kiss.

_Until then I'll pretend he's kissing me because he wants to...not because of some stupid Shen-Gong-Wu._

* * *

Alrighty, there's chapter 6! I hope you guys enjoyed it and it wasn't overly sappy or anything. And yes, there is a reason they go see Miss Congeniality instead of some more popular movie. You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to see why.

If you guys can help me break 100 reviews I'll post chapter 7 on Friday instead of on Monday like I was planning on doing. Deal? Well either way you'll get it. Either on Friday or Monday, your choice.

So R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


	7. Now We're Fanning the Flames

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. _:sigh:_

**Title: **Fanning the Flames

**Summary: **The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...

**Author: **Silverflare07

**Dedication: **To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!

**Author's Notes: **The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. _:sigh:_

**Stuff You Need to Know: **

"Speech"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Kimiko walked out to meet her fellow dragons at the training site. They had been training but Omi had accidentally hit her with his Tsunami Strike and she'd been forced to go change. Now she was dry and ready for the next lesson. She returned to Raimundo and Clay sparring so she joined Omi on the sidelines. The little monk smiled at her then continued to scrutinize his friends' performance. Kimiko took this time to let her thoughts wonder.

It was the second day after her's and Raimundo's almost disastrous 'date' and things seemed to have smoothed over. Fortunately Raimundo wasn't the type of guy who liked to make-out twenty-four seven. He seemed perfectly content with the knowledge that she_ would_ kiss him instead of actually making her kiss him. True, he greeted her this morning with a quick peck on the lips and, yes, that was also how he'd said good night to her the night of their date but he wasn't demanding that she kiss him whenever they had a free moment.

That was nice. She really didn't like those types of guys anyways and she really, _really_, wanted to like Raimundo. It had taken her a while to admit her feelings for the Brazilian boy a loud but she had always felt them. The only hard part was figuring out how Raimundo felt about her without the Bracelet of Aikou affecting him. The thought that he might not see her as anything more then a sister was frightening, especially since she'd realized how deeply she cared about him.

_Kami! I sound like I'm in love with him!_

Her eyes widened at the thought. Was it even a possibility? Could she honestly say she loved Raimundo Pedrosa? The idea of her being in love at her age seemed a little silly. What kind of person fell in love at 17? She bit her lip. So what if she enjoyed every second they spent together? So what if, when they'd kissed, she'd felt like nothing else mattered but them? So what if she could easily see her and Raimundo spending the rest of their lives together, raising children and a dog? That didn't mean she was in love with him.

_Kami! I _am_ in love with him!_

Kimiko groaned and placed her head in her hands. What a fine mess this was turning out to be. She tried to look at things logically. Fact: Boy and girl know each other and are close. Fact: Neither boy nor girl have feelings for each other, at least not consciously. Fact: Girl uses Shen-Gong-Wu, accidentally, and forces boy to suddenly have more-then-platonic feelings for her. Fact: Girl slowly realizes she actually _does_ have more-then-platonic feelings for boy. Fact: Girl still doesn't know if boy ever liked her to begin with. Fact: Girl was hopelessly confused.

Another cold blast of water brought her out of her thoughts. Her head snapped up to see Omi looking apologetically at her. "I am most sorry my friend. I tried to warn you but you did not here me."

Beside him Raimundo shot her a smile that showed how sorry he was. Next to her Clay, who had taken Omi's place after training with Raimundo, took off his hat and squeezed the water from it. He looked down at Kimiko. "You okay?"

Kimiko nodded. "I'm fine. I'm just going to go change again." She stood up and twisted the bottom of her tunic, getting as much water from it as she could. "I'll be right back."

She walked back towards the temple and had just entered when a voice behind her stopped her.

"Are alright young monk?"

Kimiko turned to face Master Fung and nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"It is not like you to be so easily distracted." Master Fung told her, walking closer and sitting down.

She followed his suit and sighed. "I know. I've just got a lot on my mind I guess."

"Ah," He nodded in understanding. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the Bracelet of Aikou would it?"

She blushed. "Maybe a little."

Master Fung nodded his head. "What troubles you? Are you worried about when the spell will end? Or perhaps what will happen when it's over?"

Kimiko sighed and nodded. "A little bit of both Master Fung. Is Raimundo going to remember everything that's happened while he's under the spell?"

Master Fung shrugged. "That I do not know. This is only the second time this particular Wu has ever been used. Perhaps you could ask Wuya. She may tell you."

Kimiko made a face at the thought of asking the Heylin witch about what she'd done while under the influence of the Wu. It couldn't be a very happy subject for Wuya and bringing it up probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world. Especially if she already didn't like you. "Maybe I'll just wait until the Wu wears off and see for myself."

Master Fung nodded. "A wise choice."

They sat in silence, Kimiko shivering a little because of her wet clothes. She had a question to ask but she really wasn't sure if she wanted to ask Master Fung. Or anyone at the temple. It was times like these that made her wish she had another female dragon at the temple. Keiko couldn't help because she wasn't there. Sure she got updates all the time but that's not the same as being there in person. Finally she turned to Master Fung and sighed. "Do you think everything will go back to normal after this is over?"

Master Fung remained quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer. "I believe that everything will return to normal...unless you choose not to let it."

Kimiko nodded, sort of understanding what he was saying. "What would you do?" She asked, desperate for a way to fix the mess that was undoubtedly coming.

Again Master Fung was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "I suppose I would do what my heart was telling me to do. And I believe you should do the same." With that he got up and walked back to the other dragons.

Kimiko watched him leave before standing up and walking to her room. Sighing she pulled out another tunic and began to change. As she was pulling her arm through the sleeve she noticed a piece of paper fall to the ground. Slipping on the rest of her tunic she bent down to pick it up. Flipping it over she found herself staring at the picture of her and Raimundo he'd had Clay take almost a week ago. Wondering briefly how it had gotten in her wardrobe in the first place she flipped it over again to look at the back, surprised to notice Raimundo's handwriting.

_Kimi (see that nickname's not so bad),_

_Just thought you'd like this picture of us that Clay took. I sent it to my parents and they can't wait to meet you in person (I hope you don't mind I borrowed your laptop). _

_I love you_

_Rai_

Kimiko sighed and looked back at the picture once more. She traced Raimundo's outline with her finger until it blended in with hers. She stood there and studied the picture, admiring how nicely they fit together and how wonderful they looked, his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. It suddenly hit her just how much she didn't want to find out what it would be like when he _didn't_ want to wrap his arms around her like that anymore. She didn't want to have to find out at all. And if there was any chance she could possibly avoid that (short of using the bracelet again) she was going to take it.

She nodded to herself. When the Bracelet of Aikou wore off she knew exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

"Wu alert!"

Dojo slithered up to the four dragons the next day as they were taking a well-deserved rest.

"A Wu? Now? But we just started are break!" Kimiko sighed.

"I know," Dojo began to scratch his tail furiously. "But they don't wait till it's convenient for you. And, according to this rash on my tail, this Wu is ready to go."

"Which Shen-Gong-Wu is it?" Omi asked, eager as always to get more Shen-Gong-Wu and grow stronger.

"The Cup of Le Ching." Dojo slid open the ancient scroll. "When you activate it, it fills with a mythical silver liquid that acts as a mirror, allowing you to view anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Even the spirits of the dead."

"Whoa..." Clay whispered as they watched the man in the circle hold up a cup and wait for it to fill before looking into its surface.

"That's a pretty powerful Wu..." Raimundo commented, for once not acting cocky or giving some sarcastic remark.

"Well none of the Wu are useless." Dojo told him before tapping his chin. "Although the Bracelet of Aikou does come pretty close."

"No kidding," Kimiko agreed, not mentioning the fact that, if it weren't for the Bracelet, she wouldn't have realized her feelings for Raimundo so soon. "I can't imagine this being much of a help in a fight. Especially since it wears off and your enemies could just come after you again."

"What are we waitin' for partners?" Clays punched one fist into his open palm. "Let's saddle up this doggie and get us a Shen-Gong-Wu!"

Dojo grew to his enormous size and waited patiently for the monks to climb on. Omi hopped on first, clutching the ancient scroll in one hand. Kimiko jumped on after him and Raimundo got on just behind her. She didn't protest as he wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her against his chest. Clay, in true cowboy spirit, placed a saddle over Dojo before climbing on.

"Be careful young monks." Master Fung warned as Dojo lifted into the air. "It would not be wise to lose this Shen-Gong-Wu."

"Should we fan the flames?" Kimiko called out playfully as Dojo continued skyward.

Master Fung smiled up at them. "If you wish."

Kimiko smirked to herself before turning her head to face Raimundo. She smiled brightly at him and enjoyed the pleasant warmth spreading through her body as he smiled back. "Did you hear that Rai? We have to fan the flames."

He cocked his head to the side, looking adorably confused. "Can we do that if only one of us is in a showdown?"

Kimiko shrugged. "I don't know." She grinned. "But I'm sure we'll find out."

* * *

"You're too late Xiaolin Losers!" Jack called triumphantly as he held the Cup of Le Ching in his hands. "I've got the Cup of Le Ching and there's nothing you can do about it."

"We shall see about that!" Omi cried, placing his hands together in front of him. A small, steady, stream of water snaked its way around Omi before shooting up at Jack.

"Yeah right. Like I'm really supposed to be scared of a little thing of water. As if." Jack dismissed the 'threat' with a wave of his hands, turning around just in time to see a large mass of earth coming flying towards him, courtesy of Clay. "Mommy." He squeaked before the mass of dirt and rock hit him and the cup went flying from his hands.

It landed on the ground a few feet from everyone and Kimiko and Raimundo both raced towards it. Jack, after brushing the dirt from his hair and face, flew off after them, desperate to get the cup back. His hand came down on it the same time Kimiko's did and she smirked.

"Jack Spicer, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" She told him over the glowing cup. "The game is Thin Ice. The first to fall through the ice loses. I wager my Eye of Dashi against your Third Arm Sash."

Jack looked down at the dry, grass-covered ground around them and shrugged. "Sure. But let's make it interesting. How about you wager The Bracelet of Aikou?"

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "Can I do that?" She turned to Dojo.

"Let's see..." Dojo flipped through the pages of an old book. "Aha! Here it is. Wagering an active Shen-Gong-Wu. Since most Shen-Gong-Wu's powers are only temporary, lasting for only a few seconds, or at least well within the users power to control wagering an active Shen-Gong-Wu is fine. In cases where the wagered Shen-Gong-Wu has long lasting effects, or is not well within the users power to control it can still be wagered. In the event that the opponent wins the Shen-Gong-Wu's effects would simple transfer over to that person." He was meet with five blank stares.

"Huh?" Clay asked for the group.

Dojo sighed, slamming the book and removing his glasses. "She can wager it. But if Jack wins," Dojo slithered up to Raimundo's shoulders and slapped his claws over Raimundo's ears. "Raimundo over here will be in love with Jack for the remainder of the Wu's duration."

Everyone, minus Raimundo who hadn't heard what he'd said, all cringed at the thought. Kimiko turned back to Jack. "Still want me to wager the Bracelet?"

Jack thought it over. "Total control over one of the Xiaolin dragons...even if I do have to put up with him being love sick for a little while, it'll be worth it. Imagine all the damage I can do!"

Kimiko shrugged. "Okay then. I accept your terms, Jack Spicer."

"And I accept your wager."

"Let's go!" They shouted together. "XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"

Immediately the ground they were standing on turned to ice. Walls of ice sprang up around them, encasing them in an oval shaped arena. The Cup of Le Ching floated up into the air before crashing back down through the ice. The hole in the ice was covered up immediately by a thin sheet of ice, cracked and ready to break at a moments notice.

"GONG YI TAMPAI!"

Kimiko jumped back as Jack called for the Third Arm Sash and had it create a hole in the ice where she had just been standing. Landing, she slid a few feet back, using one hand to keep her balance. "Nice try Spicer. But you have to actually be able to catch me before that Wu does you any good."

Jack scowled at the Japanese girl. "Oh yeah! At least my Wu can do something! What's yours going to do? Force Raimundo to spout love songs to you?" He laughed.

Kimiko scowled at the arrogant boy in front of her. "Be there, done that, not so eager to have it happen again!" She leapt from her spot and soared towards him, her foot out stretched and ready to kick him in the face.

"THIRD ARM SASH!" Jack cried and the sash lashed out towards Kimiko, grabbing her outstretched leg and using it to hurdle her into one of the walls. She slid to the floor and wobbled for a moment before standing up right once again.

Her eyes narrowed and she lifted up her left arm, examining the bracelet. "Well," She muttered to herself. "It can't do any harm... BRACELET OF AIKOU!"

_Please don't let Jack fall in love with me. Please, please, please!_

The bracelet began to grow a bright white and Kimiko began to think it _was_ going to force Jack to love her but he didn't seem fazed by it at all. Instead Raimundo let out a yelp from the other side of the ice wall and, a few seconds later, came shooting over the top and landing at Kimiko's feet. He smiled up at her. "Hi."

"No fair!" Jack shouted at them. "That's two against one!"

Kimiko shrugged and helped Raimundo to his feet. "You're the one that had me wager the Bracelet of Aikou."

"Yeah, but if I'd have known it was going to do that," He pointed at Raimundo. "I wouldn't have made you wager it!"

"Well it's to late now Jack. I suggest we end this. Care to help me Rai?"

Raimundo grinned. "Sure."

"Okay! It's time to fan the flames! But remember," She cautioned as she called up a small sword of fire. "We can't touch the water once the ice has melted."

Raimundo nodded. "Got it. Ready?"

Kimiko held the sword out in front of her; it's fiery tip pointing at Jack. "You bet!"

Raimundo willed a breeze to come and the sword grew larger then both himself and Kimiko. Kimiko, still gripping its flaming handle, apparently unaffected by its heat, smiled as she saw Jack eye the sword nervously. "All right Rai, let's finish this!"

Raimundo nodded and wrapped his arms around Kimiko's waist, pulling her against him. Then he used another large gust of wind to hold them up off the ground. "This should keep us up for a little while."

Kimiko turned and nodded at him. "Right!" Then she turned back to face the sword and Jack and grinned. "It's over Spicer. HIYA!" She drove the flame sword into the ice and watched in triumph as the entire area floor melted under the extreme heat.

Jack looked up frantically before plunging into the icy depths that lay beneath the ice. There was a white flash and everything returned to normal, the cup floating down into Kimiko's hands and the Third Arm Sash dropping into Raimundo's. Clay and Omi's cheers greeted them as they raced to their friends. Kimiko turned to Jack and grinned triumphantly. "Take that Jack Spicer!"

Jack scowled and stood up, brushing the dirt off of this jacket. "Ah, he only helped you 'cuz you're cute."

"WHAT!" Raimundo shouted, dropping the Third Arm Sash and marching up to Jack. "It's about way more then her being cute! It's because she's smart and nice and funny! Not to mention she's my friend and that I love her! That's pretty twisted, thinking I would just like her for her looks. You're a...a..." Raimundo trailed off before beginning to scream at Jack again in very rapid Spanish.

Jack shrank back in fear as Raimundo towered over him and Clay, Omi, and Kimiko watched. Kimiko rolled her eyes, Jack looked so pathetic, cowering in fear, eyes wide and watery that she had to at least try and help him. Besides, Raimundo's rant was just a little embarrassing. "It's all right Jack. He doesn't really mean what he's saying."

"Like hell I don't!"

Kimiko lifted her left hand to smack her forehead and was surprised to find that, instead of her palm, something cold and metal hit her forehead and bounced off it, rolling across the ground before settling at Omi's feet. Everyone turned to stare at the object as it glittered in the sun.

The Bracelet of Aikou.

"Uh..." Raimundo flushed a bright red. "I, uh..."

Jack burst into laughter. "This is so great! You're telling me that whole little outburst had _nothing_ to do with the Bracelet of Aikou."

Dojo shook his head. "Nope. That was 100 the real Raimundo."

Jack continued to laugh as he activated his flying pack and rose up to meet Wuya. "What are you laughing at insolent boy? You've lost yet another Shen-Gong-Wu!"

"Yeah, I know." He wiped tears of laughter from his eye. "But that was _so _worth it!" He continued laughing as he flew off into the distance. Wuya sighed and followed him.

Kimiko turned to face her fellow dragon. Out of respect Clay and Omi both backed up, standing in front of a huge-sized Dojo to watch the turn of events. Kimiko walked over to Raimundo his speech still ringing in her ears.

_Not to mention she's my friend and that I love her!_

_That I love her!_

_I love her!_

Maybe telling Raimundo how she felt wouldn't be so hard after all. Of course the minute she opened her mouth to speak the words died on her tongue. What if he had just meant a platonic sort of love, like the kind she felt for Omi and Clay. Or what if was just a side effect of the Bracelet? Maybe it hadn't completely worn off yet. Still, she needed to do this. Things just couldn't go back to the way they had been before. Bracing herself she opened her mouth to speak.

"Rai I..." And found the words and fled from her once again. "Rai I...what I'm trying to say, I mean...That is...I wanted to tell you that I..." She looked at the ground nervously, her hands wringing the skirt of her tunic.

"You think I'm gorgeous," Raimundo's voice floated down to her. "You wanna date me, love me and marry me." She looked up to see him doing an imitation of the silly dance Sandra Bullock had done on the movie screen not even four days ago.

_Why that little..._ She scowled and 'hmped', turning around and crossing her arms over her chest. Immediately he stopped humming the song.

"Sorry Kimiko. I didn't mean to make you mad, I just thought I'd make it a little easier on you, that's all."

Kimiko 'hmph'ed again and continued to ignore him.

"Aw, come on Kimi-bear!"

At the sound of the nickname she turned around and swung her fist at his face. He grinned and ducked underneath it, popping up again right in front of her, his face inches from hers. "Don't be mad." He whispered, placing his hands on her waist and pulling her close. "I'm sorry. Now what were you going to tell me?"

Kimiko tried to continue being mad at him but she found herself incapable of being so when he's face was incredibly close to hers. So close that she could see into his forest green eyes. She also found that she couldn't remember exactly what she was going to say. She knew the jist of it was somewhere along the lines of 'I love you' but the exact speech she had planned out was gone. "I don't remember." She confessed.

Raimundo shrugged nonchalantly but the grinned down at her. "Well maybe I should help you jog you're memory. It had something to do with me right?"

Kimiko nodded.

"And the Bracelet of Aikou?"

Again she nodded.

"And you still don't remember?"

Kimiko shook her head, hiding her playful smile as best as she could. Neither one of them needed to say it to know that it was true.

Raimundo caught her smile and returned it. "Well then here, maybe this will jog your memory." He lowered his lips to her in a passionate, fiery kiss.

Kimiko smiled against his lips and returned the kiss with equal fervor.

_Oh yeah! No Bracelet of Aikou required..._

* * *

Omi picked up the Bracelet of Aikou, which was still at his feet, and watched as Kimiko and Raimundo continued to kiss.

"Still jealous partner?"

Omi thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I do not believe so. You see, Kimiko is the only girl I have ever known. But there are plenty of girls in the world and I shall find one. I am most certain."

Clay clapped him on the back and grinned. "Right you are partner, right you are."

* * *

Kimiko concentrated on the small trail of fire that was blazing before her. It was almost a week after the Bracelet had fallen off and everything was settling back into sweet, sweet normalcy.

"Guess who?" A pair of hands covered her eyes as a Spanish accent prompted her to play guessing games.

Well...almost everything.

Kimiko cocked her head to the side in mock confusion. "Um...Omi?"

"Ha ha, very funny." Raimundo replied sarcastically as Kimiko turned around to face him.

"Aw, I'm sorry Rai-Rai." She cooed in a baby tone, payback was sweet. "How can I make it up to you?"

"Well for starters," Raimundo wrapped his arms around her waist. "You can never call me Rai-Rai again."

Kimiko laughed and smiled up at the Brazilian boy. "Anything else?"

Raimundo pretended to think. "Yeah, you could let me kiss you." Kimiko nodded, laughing slightly. "I think I can live with that."

She stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips. "How was that?"

Raimundo pouted playfully. "That was cheap! I wanted a real kiss!"

Kimiko laughed again. "Well you should have said that in the first place my baby-bunky-bunker-boo."

Raimundo cringed. "Kimi!" He whined. She laughed and he frowned. "Payback bites like a rabid monkey. You know none of that stuff was my fault!"

Kimiko smiled. "Yeah I know...it's still fun to pick on you though."

Raimundo laughed with her before grinning. "Now... bout that kiss..." He leaned down and captured her lips with his.

As they continued to kiss a fierce gust of wind swept by them, setting the small trail of fire Kimiko had been controlling ablaze. Behind them Master Fung sighed.

"This is not what I meant when I said fanning the flames."

* * *

It's over! I'm so proud of myself! I actually wrote it! I apologize that I didn't get it up as early as I promised I would but my dog chewed the cord so I couldn't get online until my mom brought home the new cord at, like, 8:30 at night.

I also apologize if there are spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm uploading this while I'm talking to my friend on the phone, I'm so eager to get this up, so I can't reread it. I'm pretty sure it should be okay though. If it's really horrible I'll fix the mistakes and upload it again.

And...now you know why they went to go see Miss Congeniality instead of some newer movie.

Don't forget to R&R!

Come on, send me a smile!


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